Teen Hiroki
by Cerberus Revised
Summary: Done as a reader request. The specs: 1. Gender Bender (Don't liker GB? ME EITHER, but try it! Only Hiroki has been biologically shifted here. Even so, I did my best to keep ALL the characters I.C.) 2. Takes place in High School Setting 3. Hiroki is upset about Akihiko and Takahiro 4. Enter Nowaki! Hooray! Lots of canon elements. ALL COUPLES APPEAR. Rated "T."
1. Park Bench

**6/3/2012  
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**Just so you know, "straight" or "het" isn't really my bag, but I got a particularity poignant plea from a reader to write Hiroki genderbent. I am always up for a challenge and also was curious if I could write this piece and keep him in character as a her. One of my critiques of so many genderbent fics and the reason I stay away from them is the way in which writers often tweak the characters when the characters become women. It's generally not flattering and unfortunately reveals a great deal about how writers and culture in general stereotypes the female gender.  
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***steps down off of soap box... ***

**Anyway, here's my attempt at the genderbending you enjoy it. Also, rest assured that after this I'll be going "straight" back into yaoi. Heh.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica or any of its characters**

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><p><strong>This fic was for FF's yaoifangirl4ever and her ill friend. Hope that this passes your time while you are ill, sending good thoughts and healing energy your way.<strong>

**So the specs of this piece… (1) genderbender- Hiroki is a girl (2) takes place in high school (3) Hiroki is upset about Akihiko and Takahiro (4) Enter Nowaki –**

**Note: Nowaki will be fifteen, Misaki and Shinobu are thirteen, Akihiko, Takahiro, Hiroki are sixteen and Miyagi is eighteen. Otherwise Hiroki would be sixteen and Nowaki would be twelve, Akihiko sixteen and Misaki six and I won't even get into Miyagi and Shinobu...**

**So the first chapter is a bit rough, but I promise it gets better it you'll hang in through the second chapter. Most all the main couple characters will make an appearance here in some form and there are many canon elements for those of you who like that sort of thing.**

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><p><strong>Teen Hiroki<strong>

**Chapter One: Park Bench  
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Hiroki sat on the park bench dejectedly swinging her feet. She studied her shoes, hoping that focusing on the panda ornaments she'd attached earlier to her laces might distract her enough to keep the tears at bay.

Today was supposed to have been such a wonderful day. She had started out with such high hopes.

_Stupid Akihiko and that idiot Takahiro._

Hiroki's brow furrowed and she tried to rub it away. Her mother always told her she'd end up a wrinkled old lady before she was twenty if she didn't stop frowning. Her grandmother, (Her father's mother) the grand-dame Kamijou, a very severe and stylish woman who already did not approve of her unruly ways, had recently offered to buy Hiroki botox injections for her sixteenth birthday (just passed) to assure the unworried countenance more becoming a lady.

An angry tears welled up in Hiroki's eyes and one escaped. With her head bowed as it was, the drop fell straight down, staining the sleeve of the light jacket she wore over her school uniform. Hiroki sniffed.

She hated Takahashi Takahiro.

_Why did he have to come and mess everything up? Aki was my friend first._

The memory of when she'd first met Akihiko flashed in Hiroki's mind. It had happened at her secret place in the wild space between the two families' estates. He, of the strange silver hair and arresting amethyst eyes, had been the first person she had ever met who didn't point out to her right away that "Hiroki" was a boy's name.

Told by a soothsayer when she'd finally conceived that her first and only child was supposed to be a boy and that Hiroki was the name that would be most blessed, Hiroki's mother had held to the woman's words. The aunties always laughed at family gatherings, telling Hiroki how, even after she was born, her mother stuck to the name and almost seemed, the first few months, to expect her daughter to suddenly, like some late blooming seed, sprout the missing stem. The terrible embarrassment of having to hear this story over and over was just one of the reasons Hiroki didn't think the name was blessed at all; in fact she thought it was more of a curse.

Takahiro, of course like everyone else, when he'd first met her had pointed out the discrepancy of Hiroki's name. Not like he should talk, after all, the new boy had a younger brother named Misaki.

_Which is a girl's name._ Hiroki knew this because she had met him at the Takahashi funeral.

Recalling this, she suddenly felt bad. Hiroki knew that she shouldn't be harboring such ill thoughts against someone who'd so recently suffered such a terrible loss. Still, the moment that Takahashi Takahiro had shown up, her world had suddenly turned upside down.

At first Hiroki had thought Akihiko liked the new boy because he was so completely "average." For some reason her lbest friend had been obsessed with "normal, average families," for as long as she could remember.

_Probably because his own is so messed up._

Because of this, until recently, Usami Akihiko, Hiroki's "best friend," had spent more time at her house than his own. Her mother, in fact had all but adopted the youngest Usami and there were times Hiroki was sure that her mother liked Akihiko better than her. Lately, however, Akihiko had been noticably absent from the Kamijou home, spending all his time trailing the boring, normal, Takahiro around.

The only reason that Takahashi had even been allowed into their elite academy was because some aunt had left the family a little bit of money and the middle class Takahashi's had thought the best investment of it was their sons' education. Now that both Takahiro's parents had been killed in a terrible automobile accident. The Academy, out of sympathy for his loss had decided to let him stay at the school on a hardship scholarship through graduation.

Hiroki knew she was being terrible, but seriously she wished the school had just kicked him out. Since the tragedy, Akihiko had been even more devoted to the four-eyed simpleton than ever and after what she'd seen today, she knew Akihiko's interest Takahiro was far more complex than she'd originally thought.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading.<strong>


	2. The Secret Place

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Two: The Secret Place**

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><p>It was only yesterday that Hiroki and Akihiko had spent the late afternoon at their secret spot. Hiroki had been concerned because she hadn't seen her best friend for days, outside of their few shared courses. But today Akihiko had texted her in between classes, asking to meet her there after school.<p>

The late afternoon autumn sun was still warm. Hiroki sat on a blanket on the ground. The quilt was something they kept hidden there, wrapped in a plastic bag, for days when the grass was damp.

"Ah, Hiroki!" Akihiko called out as his lanky form emerged through the hole in the brambles. He climbed out of the overgrowth gracefully, though it was much more difficult for him now that he'd gown so tall.

Hiroki could still slip in with relative ease since she remained quite petite, although it was hard to get through, in a ladylike manner. She always had to be careful not to catch the hem of her school uniform skirt on a branch or get a stain on her socks crawling in, avoiding any signs that might alert her mother to the fact she was not at the library studying as she had promised.

Watching Akihiko walk towards her, Hiroki suddenly felt her heart start to beat faster. She blushed and turned her head away, not wanting him to see the effect his appearance had on her.

This had been happening more and more lately, greatly disconcerting Hiroki. They had been such good friends (though just that) for so long. Akihiko was almost like a brother to her.

And yet…

Over the last year, if she was honest with herself, Hiroki had to admit that her feelings for her friend had drastically changed.

If he noticed her blush, Akihiko said nothing. He threw his pack on the ground and sat down beside her.

"How was your day, Old Man?" Akihiko stretched out comfortably on the blanket and lay on his back resting his head on one of Hiroki's skirted thighs.

This posture had been one that the two friends had often assumed with each other. Only now, it felt very different for Hiroki to feel the weight of Akihiko's silky head in her lap, to see his lean muscular body as it tapered away from broad shoulders, down into his slender waist, and ended at his loafer-ed feet.

Hiroki growled. "I told you to stop calling me that." Akihiko had taken to addressing her that way ever since Takahiro had shown up and made those stupid comments about her name.

"You shouldn't snarl like that, Hiroki." Akihiko raised his eyes to look at her over his forehead. There was a distinct and unusual mirth in them today. "It's not very lady-like."

"Shut up, dumb-ass!" Hiroki snapped as she ruffled his thick, silver hair. Though she did not sound quite as furious this time.

"That feels nice Ki-chan." Akihiko sighed, closing his eyes.

Hiroki kept her fingers entwined in his hair, gently stroking his brow. This act too was something that they had engaged in for years. But now, looking down on the resting boy's still downy cheeks and increasingly angular jaw, something hitched in Hiroki's throat and stirred up a strange warmth deep in her belly.

"I brought you something new to read." Akihiko said after a time, his voice sounded drowsy. "Shall I start reading you a bit of it now?"

"Okay." Hiroki tried to sound indifferent. She didn't dare let Akihiko know how much this thrilled her, the ass was already so sure of himself.

Still she knew it must be hard for him. Akihiko's father was demanding that he go into law. The elder Usami, she'd heard was already trying to pull strings at some top-notch schools. But Akihiko had already determined that he was going to be a famous author and if he did go anywhere after high school it was going to be a "regular" university. Hiroki didn't doubt one bit that he would accomplish this, even if his father did force him to get a law degree. She had been reading the budding author's works since they were in grade school and every year Akihiko got more brilliant.

Some might ask, on what authority a sixteen-year-old girl could make such a claim. But Hiroki had already read every book in the school library at least once and devoured literature like most girls did chocolate.

Since his voice had changed, Hiroki had found herself increasingly captivated by Akihiko's increasingly smoky tones and now, as he began to read, the richness of them filled their enclosure. Akihiko's voice drifted up, his language lodging in the ever-multiplying spaces amongst the brilliantly colored leaves. Listening to him, Hiroki sighed and couldn't help but bite her lips to hold back a smile. She knew it really didn't matter what the idiot did or said, she could never truly stay mad at him for long.

She wondered and worried more and more in fact, if there wasn't some part of her that was starting perhaps to love him.

Hiroki was pulled from her reverie, by the sharp sound of silence, suddenly realizing that Akihiko had stopped talking.

"What did you say, Aki?" Her cheeks grew pink when she realized she'd not fully been paying attention.

Hiroki wished she didn't blush so easily, though her mother had told her it was one of her charms. _"That blushing makes you seem innocent Hiroki-chan and there will be a time when that will be a great tool for you to disarm your suitors with."_ Hiroki snorted, she didn't want suitors…

_Well, maybe just the one._

Looking down into that very person's amazing amethyst eyes, Hiroki saw them filled with perplexity.

"Honestly Hiroki, I asked you what you thought and even now you, you just wandered away from me again, I saw it. You act like your mind is a million miles away today."

Hiroki stammered, "I'm sorry Akihiko."

"Don't be." Akihiko brushed it off, then he added, "Here, take it and you can read it later and tell me what you think."

Rolling over onto his stomach, he rested his chin on Hiroki's knee as he reached out one of his long arms and gave her the notebook with his latest masterpiece in it.

He watched Hiroki put it into her bag, his lavender eyes studying her intensely.

"It's a boy isn't it?"

"What?"

Akihiko smirked as he saw Hiroki's large, hazel eyes widen in surprise and then dismay at his question. The telltale blush confirmed it. His usually cool eyes lit up with interest.

"Yes, I was right.

"Okay Hiroki, out with it. Who is the lucky or should I say more appropriately 'condemned' boy that you have your eye on?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Hiroki snapped, pushing Akihiko's forehead off her knee with a huff.

Akihiko sat up. "Suit yourself," he shrugged. "But it isn't like you to keep secrets from me.

"He must be really special."

Hiroki looked away, fiddling with the zipper on her panda backpack.

"He is."

Akihiko was surprised at how gently Hiroki said this, her voice free of its usually furious inflection. Then Hiroki turned back slightly, regarding him from beneath long lashes.

"What about you, Aki? Is there a girl you like?"

Akihiko reached into his light jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He had just started the habit recently and Hiroki found it disgusting. She knew he was only doing it to annoy his father, not that the man was ever around enough to even care.

Lighting up, Akihiko regarded his friend. He dragged his long fingers through his hair and shrugged again.

"Well there is someone… but I'm not really sure how this person feels about me… I mean I feel very close to them, but I'm not sure that this individual shares my same feelings."

Hiroki looked down, her heart fluttered in her chest like a frightened bird. "Have you said anything to this person?"

"Oh gods, no!" A rare look of alarm formed on Akihiko's generally impassive face.

"I like this person too much, I don't want to wreck the relationship. What if I confess and then the person hates me?"

Hiroki smiled shyly, her blush deepened. "I can't really imagine anyone hating you Akihiko.

"Besides, maybe the person likes you too, just as much, but they're afraid to say anything for the same reason."

"Maybe," Akihiko said noncommittally. "I'll think about it."

He coughed and then choked a bit trying to regain his breath: he still wasn't quite used to the smoke yet. He ground out the cigarette.

"Take that with you, dumb-ass," Hiroki had recovered herself a bit now. "I don't want your dirty butts littering my sanctuary."

Akihiko said nothing in response, but he smiled and casually slipped the stubbed out smoke back into the pack.

"Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" Hiroki hoped that her voice didn't sound over eager. Then she offered as a further diversion, just in case: "My mother's been asking about you again."

"Nope. Sorry, I'm taking Takahiro and Misaki out to dinner tonight."

"Again?"

"But that's like the third time this week, Aki."

"I know, and Takahiro's so sweet saying he feels bad and like he's taking advantage of me, but now all of his relatives have left and it's just him and his little brother and honestly, Hiro can't cook at all. I just don't want them to starve."

Hiroki was angry with herself for feeling suddenly jealous.

_Akihiko is just trying to be kind after all._

He always was, even though he came off to most people as unfeeling or arrogant. Hiroki knew he really had a very tender heart beneath his unruffled demeanor. Sometimes she wished she was more like him that way.

Akihiko pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Shit," he said seeing the time. "Speaking of which I have to go or I'll be late picking them up." He closed his phone, grabbed his bag, and stood up. Just before he ducked out into the bushes he looked back over his shoulder. "I'll call you later tonight, okay, Old Man?"

"If you want, but don't feel obligated!" Hiroki called out as the bushes swallowed him.

After Akihiko had disappeared Hiroki sat there dejectedly gazing at her panda backpack.

"Who are you staring at stupid?" she demanded.

Its black button eyes regarded her stoically despite her attack.

As she thought about who was truly stupid here, Hiroki's brow furrowed. She knew despite what she just said, she was now going to spend her whole night waiting.

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><p><strong>Thanks for Reading!<strong>


	3. Phone Call

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Three: Phone Call**

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><p>It was much later that night when Hiroki finished reading Akihiko's new story. She'd been reading while laying on her belly in bed. Clasping Akihiko's notebook to her chest, Hiroki rolled over onto her back.<p>

Even though she knew she was alone, out of habit, she still glanced surreptitiously around her room before wiping away the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Like so many of Akihiko's stories, it broke one's heart in the most exquisite ways.

Of course his tales weren't to everyone's taste: his works were were like him, cold and lonely on the surface, but warm and incredibly complex underneath. Looking at the connections he made in his pieces, one would think Usami Akihiko saw everything, and yet…

Hiroki sighed.

_There's some things right in front of him he doesn't see at all._

Still, she supposed she should consider herself fortunate that she possessed this part of him at least. It was more than all the other ridiculous girls at school were privy to- the ones who giggled and pouted, or batted their eyes at him every time he walked down the hall or sat next to them in class.

Hiroki got up off the bed setting Akihiko's notebook down carefully. She moved over to stand in front of the large mirror hung on her wall near her dresser. Posing there, she slowly rotated herself from side to side.

It was not the type of thing she would have usually done, as her self-reflection was generally more internal than external.

Though petite, Hiroki wouldn't have been bragging to say she was perfectly proportioned, if a bit on the thin side. But she was inclined to an athletic build after all. The fact that her parents had had her doing swimming, gymnastics, and taking classes in traditional Japanese dance since she was young had encouraged this physique.

Her breasts were small, but not too, and pert. Her hips had just the right amount of curve to be enticing, and her butt gave the short skirt of her school uniform that teasing hike in the back that drew covert glances from perverted businessmen when she passed them on the street. And she had caught more than one boy at school shooting cautious looks her way until her scowl scared them off.

She adopted that same scowl now and glared at herself in the mirror.

_It is rather fierce._

Hiroki allowed her features to soften. When she gentled herself, while no one would ever call her "beautiful," she imagined she could at least pass for "pretty."

Studying her face she pushed a her bangs aside. Her thick auburn hair was a bit unruly and she kept it cut shorter in a bit of a bob, much to her mother's chagrin, but it suited her heart shaped face perfectly and emphasized her huge hazel eyes.

_When they're not hidden behind my reading glasses._

Hiroki took her glasses of and set them on her dresser. Turning back to the mirror, her uncontrollable blush crept up onto her cheeks. It showed up so easily against her pale skin and coordinated with the natural pink of her small but full mouth.

Looking at her lips, she suddenly wondered what it would be like to kiss Akihiko.

She felt herself blush further.

They actually had kissed once, but that was years ago when they were both much younger. Akihiko had done it in an attempt to distract her from crying.

_It worked too._

Hiroki wondered what Akihiko might do if he found her crying now.

_Not that he ever will._

She was incredibly proud and would rather die than have Aki see her bawling like…

_Well… Like a girl._

Hiroki suddenly wanted to know if Akihiko's lips would be as cool as his hands. Regardless, she could imagine taking his hard jaw in her own small hands, pressing her body up against his broad firm chest and…

Her cell phone rang.

"Oh shit!" Cursing, she scurried over to her bed to pick up the phone. Seeing the number her face grew hot.

"Speak of the devil."

Unconsciously Hiroki straightened her skirt and fluffed her hair, then realizing what she was doing she let out a horrified, "Gahhhhhh!"

"Stop being so stupid!" She chided herself.

Flipping open her phone she hissed in greeting. "Aki, what in the hell are you thinking, calling so late?!"

On the other end of the line, Akihiko sounded completely nonplussed. "Well you're up aren't you?"

"Yes, but my mother's in the other room and she'll freak out if she hears my phone ringing at this hour!"

"Then why don't you just put it on vibrate?"

Sometimes Hiroki hated Akihiko's cool logic.

"What do you want Aki?" she snapped.

"Well, I told you I'd call you, and so I did. I wouldn't ever want to break my word to you, Hiroki."

When Akihiko said this, Hiroki's chest suddenly constricted.

"Yeah, well, thank you." She muttered, her tone much more mild.

"Look, I'm sorry that I called so late."

"No, it's fine. So how was your dinner with Jerk-a-hiro?"

Hiroki moved away from the mirror and flung herself backwards on to her bed.

"You really need some new material, Old Man." Akihiko did not sound amused.

"I think one could say the same for you." Hiroki said drily, bristling at the hated nickname.

"Point taken."

Akihiko sighed, "Can we call a truce?"

Taking Hiroki's silence as consent he continued. "Look it's just that Misaki came down with a fever while we were out and I wanted to make sure that he and Takahiro were settled before I left them."

Now Hiroki once again felt like a complete ass next to _St. Aki._

"But while I was with them tonight I had a lot of time to think about what we talked about this afternoon and I made a decision… I think. But before I do anything rash, Ki-chan, I need to ask you a question."

Hiroki's heart stopped.

"Okay, Akihiko what is it?"

"Hiroki…"

There was a sudden loud crash on the other end of the line.

Akihiko's voice dropped and changed from silk to sandpaper. "Haruhiko, get the fuck out of my room!…"

"Look Hiroki, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow at school, I need to go."

Hiroki could hear the boys starting to argue before Akihiko shut his phone. Her friend's usually cultured tone had broken into a full growl

"There are twenty-three rooms in this god damn house and I only ask you to stay out of one!"

Then, the sounds of a scuffle and Haruhiko's voice bleating loudly, "Get off me you dumb bastard!"

The line went dead.

"Arrrrgh!" Hiroki threw her phone across the room and pulled a pillow over her head.

Her heart pounded with the possibilities of Akihiko's unasked question.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading<strong>


	4. Literature Club

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Four: Literature Club**

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><p>Sitting on her park bench, Hiroki watched another fat teardrop fall. This one hit the back of her hand. She lifted this same hand up to her watering eyes and rubbed, almost as if by doing this, she could return the tear to its point of origin.<p>

Biting her full bottom lip to keep it from quivering, Hiroki knew that if she wasn't careful, she was going to lose control and really start bawling.

_How embarrassing would that be?_

It certainly couldn't be any more mortifying than what had happened to her that afternoon: Hiroki's Kamijou pride had never suffered quite such a blow.

She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at it.

_ No calls, no texts._

On one level Hiroki had hoped that Akihiko might have tried to contact her.

All the same…

She blushed deeply. Hiroki didn't know if she could ever face him again after what had happened…

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><p>After her conversation with Akihiko the previous night, she'd arrived at school the next day filled with equal feelings of giddiness and unease, wondering what Akihiko's question might be.<p>

_Could it be possible he might want to confess to me?_

This thought brought a small smile, unbidden to Hiroki's lips.

It disappeared just as quickly, however, when she heard someone shout, "Heeee-Ro-Keee, my sweet honey!" and suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her shoulders from behind.

"Urrgh, get off me Miyagi, senpai!" Hiroki snarled, peeling the upperclassman's arms off of her and slapping him away in disgust.

"I told you yesterday I'd go to the principal about your harassment if you didn't stop grabbing me like that! Why can't you ever greet someone properly?"

The tall, dark-haired boy, was completely unfazed by the threats, and merely fell into step beside her.

"What fun is that?" Miyagi laughed.

Hiroki found herself growing frustrated that no matter how much faster she walked to leave Miyagi behind, his long legs easily kept up.

Miyagi appreciatively watched the way that Hiroki's skirt bounced with her rapid pace. At least, until Hiroki looked back over at him and glared. Miyagi's face never lost its amused smile, the expression in his eyes just shifted a bit.

"So what are you doing after classes today?"

"I have an extra piano practice this afternoon. I'm playing at the school festival this weekend, if you must know!" Hiroki snapped, clutching the straps of her backpack tighter and picking up her pace yet again.

"Too bad," Miyagi's grin had slipped only momentarily. "I was wondering if you could help me a bit with the festival display for the literature club?"

Hiroki snorted, she was not particularly concerned with appearing lady-like around Miyagi. "Do your own work Senpai! You're the club president after all!"

"Oi, Kamijou, come on!" The lanky teen managed to sound hurt.

"Why don't you get your girlfriend's little brother to help you?" Hiroki asked and then added derisively, "He's always hanging around you. I bet he'd be happy to help."

"What, Shinobu?" Miyagi grimaced at the mention of the boy.

"First, Hiroki-chan, she's my EX-girlfriend. Second, the kid's kind of creepy... The way he's always looking at me and following me around. And besides, he's in middle school; he's not even a member of our club."

"Please…" Miyagi whined. He tried to look pathetic, but he was just so damn cocky he couldn't really pull it off.

Nonetheless, the overachiever in Hiroki had been challenged. She was a member of the literature club as well, and hadn't been sure she'd be able to help out at the booth during the festival because of the recital.

_It would be a good way to maintain my standing with the other members._

"Oh, I don't know…" Hiroki sighed. She could feel her resolve crumbling.

"You shouldn't furrow your brow like that, Kamijou. You'll get wrinkles." Miyagi moved on long finger as though he was actually going to poke her brow.

"Shut up Senpai!" Hiroki shouted, though she unconsciously put one of her own fingers to her forehead.

"Let's try something, Hiroki-chan."

"That's Kamijou to you, Senpai! How many times do I have to tell you!"

Miyagi put a hand on Hiroki's arm stopping her just outside of her homeroom. "Why don't you try answering me the way a normal girl would?"

"What?"

Miyagi clasped his hands to his chest; he widened his eyes and batted them furiously at Hiroki, his voice in a high singsong pitch.

"Of course Miyagi-senpai, I'd love to help you prepare for the festival. Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm at it?"

Hiroki stood at the doorway, crossed her arms and stared at the senior completely un-amused.

"Come on, Hiro- er... Kamijou. I'm having to manage our display all by myself."

"What about your Sensei? I thought she was coordinating the club?"

Miyagi's face instantly fell and Hiroki felt completely insensitive for bringing it up. There had been rumors floating around the school that the woman had been feeling unwell lately, that it might even be serious.

Miyagi's reverence for his favorite literature teacher was hardly a secret.

_Why is it no matter what I say, I always end up feeling like an ass?_

Hiroki self-consciously looked down as she ran her fingers through her bobbed auburn hair, tucking a particularly wild bit behind her ear.

"Look, okay fine…I'll help you… but tomorrow. I really can't today…" Hiroki blushed. She raised her large hazel eyes to Miyagi's hoping that her concession would some how assuage the senior's sorrow but she found herself almost bowled over instead, as the older boy glommed on to her once more, all sadness seemingly forgotten in an instant.

"Ah, Heee-Ro-Keee, my sweetie, you've saved me!"

"Ack! Miyagi!" Hiroki pushed him violently away.

"Idiot!" she hissed, "I'm not going to help you at all unless you stop touching me and address me properly. Understood?"

Miyagi looked only momentarily contrite, before a satisfied smirk filled his face. "Okay, Kamijou-chan, you win." He shrugged and sauntered off down the hall whistling.

Hiroki gingerly brought her finger to her forehead and tentatively felt her ever-deepening furrow. It didn't feel like she'd won.

Then she turned and saw Akihiko through the open door. He was sitting at his desk looking at her with a strange expression on his face.

_Is it possible he's jealous?_

Hitching up her panda pack, Hiroki made her way over towards him.

Though her external expression didn't change, inwardly she smiled to herself. Oh well, the day wasn't over yet. True victory might yet still be hers.

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><p><strong>I just finished re-watching season two of JR last night. So, much of Hiroki and Miyagi's interaction here was derived from their scenes together in the Egoist episode that occurs when Nowaki first returns from America , before the library episode...<strong>

**Anyway, so need I even say it?... (Sigh) Alright. I, unlike the fierce Kamijou have no pride... (insert pleading tone) Please review.**


	5. Afternoon Plans

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Five: Afternoon Plans**

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><p>Once she entered the classroom, drawing closer to Akihiko, Hiroki did a double take.<p>

"Oh, Aki," she breathed, seeing the bruise on his pale cheek just a few shades darker than his eyes.

"Did Haruhiko do that to you?"

Her first impulse had been to step up and take Akihiko's long face in her hands; to run her finger over his battered cheek; brush it with her lips; salve it with her tongue...

Hiroki blushed crimson as this sequence flashed through her mind.

Instead of doing any of these, she stayed where she was, feet rooted to the floor. Hiroki gripped the straps of her pack more tightly as she slid it from her shoulders and set it down on the ground beside her desk.

Akihiko's face remained impassive. Then he leaned back in his chair tucking his long arms behind his neck.

"Don't fuss, Hiroki, it's nothing." A slight smirk played across his lips. "Besides, you should see Haruhiko; I thrashed that bastard good."

"Who's fussing? I just asked," Hiroki said, feeling embarrassed again as she slid into her chair.

"Speaking of asking, Professor... Who was that at the door?"

"What? What's with the professor stuff?"

Akihiko shrugged. "You said last night you didn't like me calling you 'Old Man.' And the other day when we were talking about university you said you might want to teach literature... So given our recent conversations, I thought I'd try this out. Actually…" He eyed Hiroki speculatively, "_Professor_ rather suits you."

"Shut up Aki! That's a mean tease." Hiroki tried hard to keep the tremble out of her voice. She'd only mentioned her dream of teaching literature in passing, knowing full well her parents wanted her married at a decent age and living as they said, "a quiet respectable life befitting the family name."

"I wasn't teasing, Ki-chan," Akihiko's tone was suddenly seriously.

Looking in to Akihiko's pale eyes, Hiroki saw he was earnest. She felt what was becoming an all too familiar flutter in her chest.

Before she could say anything in response, however, Akihiko nodded again towards the door. "So who was that?

"That's not the boy who has your mind so boggled, you couldn't listen to my story yesterday... Was it? You two seemed awfully familiar there a moment ago."

Hiroki was startled. Usami Akihiko actually sounded concerned.

It was times like this she longed for a mind that was clever at something more than music or academics. She wished to possess that seemingly instinctual knack some girls had for manipulating situations. She'd watched the popular ones play boy against boy, often enough with their chess-like strategies to get the affection of the one they wanted, but she just didn't seem to have the knack for it.

"You mean Miyagi? Ewwww. Oh gods no!" Hiroki made a face. "He's not my type anyway; that boy isn't serious about anything."

"Good." Said Akihiko simply.

"Because if he was I was going to tell you that I didn't approve."

"Since when do I need your approval, Aki?" Hiroki snapped, though secretly she was rather pleased.

"You don't Ki-chan." BUt after saying this, Akihiko added, his voice very gentle, "But I happen to know that under all that huff, there's a very tender heart and I don't want you giving your affections to the wrong person and getting hurt... That's all."

"Shows what little you know Aki." Hiroki snorted, but she was deeply touched and suddenly more hopeful than she'd ever been.

She looked shyly away from Akihiko's intense lavender gaze."You sounded like one of your stories, just then.

"Speaking of which... I, um… I finished reading your story last night, Aki." Hiroki was all too aware of how hot her cheeks were blushing as she dug around in her backpack looking for the notebook. She handed it to Akihiko hoping that he wouldn't notice her shaking fingers.

Their hands touched as she passed the book back. Hiroki started, but Akihiko didn't seem to notice.

"Already?" Akihiko's brow rose just a bit.

"So, what did you think?"

Hiroki shrugged, she pulled her own notebook out of her pack and self-consciously slipped on her reading glasses. "It's good.

"You keep improving all the time."

It surprised her when Akihiko let out a small sigh of relief: she hadn't realized he valued her opinion so much.

"Anything specific?" Now that he'd had a moment to regain his practiced indifference, Akihiko's tone was cool once more.

"Read my notes."

Opening his notebook, Akihiko took out three folded pages filled with Hiroki's careful script.

"Well, even if you never become a professor, Kamijou, I bet you'd make one hell of an editor."

Despite herself, Hiroki blushed and beamed at the rare compliment.

"Here..." Akihiko dug around in his own bag and brought out another notebook.

"A new story?"

"Yes. Though I'm rather hesitant to have you read it."

"Why?"

"Well, it's a bit different than what I usually write…"

"Oh?" This piqued Hiroki's interest.

"It's kind of a love story really."

Hiroki's heart started beating faster.

"But, um…" The usually cavalier Usami, paused. "Both of the main characters are boys…"

"You mean that two boys fall in love with each other?" Hiroki was incredulous. Naive despite all the words she'd consumed she wondered who would read a story like that.

"Yes," Akihiko said, casually now, as though he wrote about that kind of stuff every day.

"Look Ki-chan, if it makes you uncomfortable…"

"Oh, no, of course not Aki." Hiroki felt as if her cheeks were about to combust. "You must think me very close minded.

"Besides, I know you are always up for a challenge when it comes to broadening your writing horizons and looking for new things to write about." Hiroki slipped the notebook into her backpack, hiding it amidst her other papers.

Akihiko glanced up at the clock.

"Yeah, something like that."

Class would be starting soon and Takahiro had not shown up yet. Akihiko suddenly worried that perhaps Misaki had taken a turn for the worse during the night.

Hiroki had resolved that she was going to wait for Akihiko to bring it up again, but looking at him now, she couldn't help herself.

"Er... Akihiko... You know when you called last night, you said you'd been thinking about what we had talked about at 'the place' and..." She gulped, "you said you had something you wanted to ask me."

"Ah, yes," Akihiko sighed. "Hiroki, are you going to go to 'our place' this afternoon after school?"

"No, why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Aki. I have extra piano practice for the festival." Hiroki was annoyed by Akihiko's sudden obtuseness. Despite this she added, "You'll come to the recital won't you?"

"I haven't missed one yet, have I?"

Just then Takahiro walked in and Akihiko's eyes lit up like a flash of lavender lightening, though nothing else in his expression changed.

"Hiro!" Akihiko greeted warmly as the boy approached. Takahiro drew near and pushed his glasses up nervously. Being around Hiroki always made him anxious, the girl was so abrupt.

"I'm glad you made it. I hope that Misaki is doing okay?"

"Far better than you from the looks of it!" Takahiro answered in way of greeting, then he added, "Thank you again for getting that medicine for him last night, Akihiko."

Takahiro right up and took his friend's chin in one of his hands, tipping Akihiko's face to the side.

"Did Haru do that to you?" The spectacled teen looked truly concerned, his voice gentle.

"I hope you gave him a proper beating."

Hiroki turned away disgusted. How improper of him to be touching Aki, "her" Aki, so familiarly in the open arena of their classroom. She noticed, however, that Akihiko did not pull away from the touch and actually almost seemed to lean in and follow the other boy's hand, as it left him. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Takahiro take his seat nearby.

"I really dislike this class," Takahiro sighed as he settled in.

"History is so much more boring than, say, economics. Besides I can't stand Yoshida-sensei; she's always throwing things. I don't know why this school let's a teacher get away with treating her students like that."

"Ha!" Hiroki said, more harshly than she intended, "I think it's perfectly justified if people aren't paying attention.

"I mean, Sensei has dedicated her life to history and then people show it such disrespect. And, Takahashi, you're just upset because you're always getting beaned for daydreaming.

"If you paid attention in class you wouldn't have a problem."

"I suppose you're right Kamijou-san," the mild-mannered Takahiro agreed, not wanting to engage in a confrontation with the combative Kamijou.

Hiroki was disappointed by Takahashi's milquetoast response. For some reason she had been spoiling for a fight with him.

Another boy named Daisuke, who was sitting next to them and had a reputation for coarse talk, suddenly interjected, "Personally, I just think Yoshida-sensei needs to get laid.

"But what guy would go with someone as fierce as the 'Witch'."

This comment brought a fresh furrow to Hiroki's forehead and a renewed blush to her cheeks. Then Mizuki, a pretty, popular girl who had just taken her own seat, added another contribution to the conversation.

"I heard the Witch has a _girlfriend_."

Four pairs of eyes widened at this news. Pleased with the attention she was getting, Mizuki whispered conspiratorially, "You've probably seen her, that tall dark-haired woman who comes around here sometimes. She supposed to be the Witch's 'roommate'."

"Oh, yeah," Daisuke drawled, trying to ingratiate himself to the pretty Mizuki.

"I think I know who you're talking about. She's a veterinarian. We've taken our dog to her before. She seems too nice though to be involved with someone like that…"

Just then the Witch herself walked in and all conversation stopped.

Personally Hiroki was glad for the silence in the class room, she'd found herself feeling uneasy about the entire conversation. She buried her face in her textbook as Yoshida began another lecture on the glory of Japanese history.

As she furiously scribbled her notes, Hiroki found she wished she had the witch's gift to make her own thoughts as silent.

* * *

><p><strong>"Teabags," artist and author of a few angsty JR fics I have been enjoying, was inspired to do an illustration of the scene under the tree in chapter three. You can see it for yourself at <strong> xxx dark spirit xxx. deviantart #  d41dku2. Just type the address into your browser and take out any spaces. ****


	6. First Kiss

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Six: First Kiss**

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><p>As she hurried through the woods Hiroki's soft shoes made almost no noise. She made sure to tuck the ends of her grey flannel scarf into her light jacket to ensure they didn't snag on a branch or pick up a burr when she saw the almost invisible path leading to her and Akihiko's "secret place" off of the main trail. She picked up her pace and darted into the brush.<p>

It was still warm enough now, with the late afternoon sun but it had been crisp earlier that morning and her mother had refused to let her out of the house without it.

Hiroki frowned.

Her parents were always going on about how she could never seem to stay warm enough. Akihiko too sometimes joked about her being "cold blooded."

_ Like he should talk,_ she snorted to herself. It seemed that no matter the situation Akihiko's body temperature never rose above a certain point.

Hitching her backpack up higher on her shoulders, Hiroki ducked deeper into the brilliance of the autumn foliage.

She was feeling particularly pleased with herself. She'd finished her piano practice well ahead of schedule and so now she had at least two hours to do with as she pleased. Since it should remain light at least that long, Hiroki had decided to head to her sanctuary and take a look at the new story that Akihiko had given her.

To be honest, as the day had progressed and she'd thought more about the concept of Akihiko's new piece, the more curious she'd become. However, she had decided she didn't really want to chance reading it at home, or even take it home with her for that matter. Her mother was always so nosy and Hiroki knew she would die of embarrassment if the proper lady Kamijou ever caught her reading something like "boys in love."

Hiroki figured she could just slip the notebook in the bag with the blanket at the hideaway, where it would be safe until she'd finished reading it. Then when she was done, she'd just take it back to Akihiko at school and no one would be any the wiser.

Suddenly she stopped short. She was almost to the enclosure when she thought she heard Akihiko's voice. This surprised her because she didn't think Akihiko had been spending time lately there unless he knew she would already be there too.

Then she heard another voice.

_Wait… is that Takahiro talking?_ Hiroki felt her anger immediately swell.

_What in the hell is that idiot doing in our space?_

Hiroki's brow furrowed with fury. Her first impulse was to race into the clearing, confront the trespassing Takahiro, and kick Aki's ass for allowing their sanctuary to be defiled. But then as she continued to move forward she could tell by the tones of the boys' voices that something wasn't right.

_Are Akihiko and Takahiro fighting?_

Slipping off the tiny path she'd been following, onto another that was smaller even still, Hiroki picked her way through the bushes, coming at last to a small empty pocket on the edge of their enclosure still hidden by a screen of branches. Crouching down and peeking through a curtain of crimson leaves, though she knew she really shouldn't be doing this, Hiroki now had an invisible front row seat to the drama playing out in the clearing.

Takahiro had his back up against the same tree she and Akihiko had been sitting under the previous day. The boy's slender fingers were clutching its trunk, his knuckles white.

"This is some kind of joke, right, Akihiko?" Takahiro asked nervously. "You drug me all the way out here for a prank. Very funny, ha, ha! You've had your laugh... Now let's go back."

"This is no prank, Hiro." Akihiko stood in front of him, his arms loosely folded across his chest. His voice was low and serious.

"Than what is it?" Takahiro's voice held a slight tremble that betrayed his discomfort.

"I told you already." Lavender eyes pierced him, pinning Takahiro to the tree. Akihiko's voice was soft and warm however, and incredibly steady.

"It's a confession." As he said this, Akihiko stepped forward and brushed the side of Takahiro's cheek with one of his long fingers.

"Ahhh… So what are you telling me, Akihiko?..."

Takahiro looked down now but did not really move his face away from the other teen's touch. He released the supporting column of the tree's trunk only long enough to push his ever-slipping glasses back up onto his nose before gazing back up at the taller teen standing in front of him.

"That these last few months, all the attention, helping me out with Misaki… was because you wanted…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. He knew he should have never allowed himself to be in the debt of another.

"No Takahiro," Akihiko's smooth voice was suddenly rough with emotion. "I want this to be clear, you're my friend… I would have wanted to... would have done all those things for you anyway… without _any _expectation.

"The fact that I love you just made it easier."

"Wait, you love me?" It was more than Takahiro's simple mind could immediately take in. "I don't understand Aki, this, this confession… What is it that you want from me?"

"I want for you not to hate me," Akihiko said softly.

"I want you to love me."

And with that said, Akihiko leaned in and kissed Takahiro.

This was not just your average high school boy kiss.

Though it was tender for a moment, Hiroki watched Akihiko's mouth almost instantly began pressuring Takahiro's, to allow him entrance. Takahiro's eyes widened. He lifted his arms from the trunk of the tree and set his hands on Akihiko's chest in an effort to push him away.

With one of his large hands, Akihiko trapped both of Takahiro's wrists. He pushed them over the slightly smaller teen's dark head trapping him against the tree. By this time he had gained access to Takahiro's mouth and was making the most of it.

Takahiro's eyes were now closed, his lips given over in submissive abandon as Akihiko explored him.

Hiroki watched as Akihiko pressed in even closer. One of his jean clad thighs nudged between Takahiro's legs, and ground sensuously in to his groin. Takahiro gasped at this added sensation beneath their continued oral embrace.

Akihiko took his free hand and ran it up underneath Takahiro's shirt. Hiroki could see the boy's lean belly where the top lifted. Beneath Takahiro's shirt, just over one tight pecs, she saw Akihiko's thumb rub a circle over Takahiro's nipple through the thin fabric. A low moan escaped Takahiro at this touch.

Dropping his hand now, Akihiko's palm slid down Takahiro's stomach and came to rest on the waistband of his jeans. Long fingers grasped the top and made a bold foray over the edge.

It was at this touch that Takahiro's closed eyes suddenly shot open again.

Turning his head, Takahiro broke the kiss. Gasping for breath, somehow he managed to slip one of his pinned wrists out of Akihiko's grasp. He set this again, against Akihiko's chest and pushed back once more. Only this time, his action was harder.

Akihiko stepped back, releasing Takahiro's other wrist as he did so, and instead, grabbed the hand that Takahiro had placed on his chest, over his heart. This motion pulled Takahiro towards him, away from the tree.

Somehow the momentum of their movements carried the pair, turning them around so that now it was Akihiko's back being braced against the tree's thick trunk.

The two boys stood there that way for several minutes.

Overhead, the tree bracing Akihiko shed a few multicolored leaves: airy tears fluttered softly to the ground, as if it were distressed by the drama taking place beneath it. Both Akihiko and Takahiro were completely oblivious to this subtle act; each entirely focused on the one before him. Both were staring hard into the other's eyes, as they panted, their lean sides heaving, shoulders shaking.

"Do you feel that, Hiro?" Akihiko said finally, indicating the hand over his pounding heart. "It beats for you."

Takahiro looked deep into amethyst eyes. Then he broke their gaze.

Looking off to the side, Hiro stepped back pulling his hand easily now out of the other boy's grasp. His glasses had been knocked completely askew by the kiss. Now the chestnut- haired teen nervously pushed his them back up on his nose again with a shaking hand. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry Akihiko," He looked at his friend once more, his expression almost apologetic. "I won't hate you…"

"...But I can't love you either."

With that, Takahiro turned and walked slowly out of the clearing.

Akihiko stood for a moment as he watched Takahiro disappear into the brush. Then his broad shoulders sagged and he collapsed against the base of the tree, his lean form sliding down the trunk, until he at last came to rest on the ground with his knees bent. Stretching his arms out, Akihiko rested them stiff-limbed, elbows on knees, before finally he reached into his jacket pocket to take out the pack of cigarettes he'd secreted there.

He had just finished taking his first drag, his fingers barely showing now any residual trembling, when Hiroki stepped out of the brush where she'd been hiding and into the enclosure.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading.<br>**


	7. The Blindfold

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Seven: The Blindfold**

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><p>Akihiko was staring at a spot on the ground between his bent knees as Hiroki walked over and stood in front of him. She stepped up so quietly and Akihiko was so lost in his thoughts, it took a while before he realized he was no longer alone in the clearing.<p>

When he did notice, he looked up, his eyes widening with surprise.

"Hiroki, what are you doing here?"

His voice sounded tired and the pain on his face tugged mightily at Hiroki's heart. Still, she was furious with Akihiko for breaking the sanctity of their "secret place."

"I could ask you the same question, Aki." Hiroki's voice became more heated with each word she spoke. "I finished with practice early and came here to read the new story you gave me."

She threw her backpack containing the notebook at Akihiko."But, after what I just saw, I'm not sure I need to!"

Raising his arms in defense, Akihiko knocked the pack to the side, almost losing his grip on his cigarette in the process. But Hiroki's outburst did not seem to faze him. Staring at his angry friend, Akihiko's expression, outside of his agonized eyes, remained unperturbed. His voice was low and even.

"How much did you see, Hiroki?"

Then suddenly, his face lit up with knew Takahiro would be beside himself with embarrassment if he knew anyone else had seen what had happened.

"Wait, did Hiro see you come in?"

After everything she'd just witnessed Hiroki couldn't believe her ears.

_He's still trying to protect Takahiro?_

Hiroki fought hard to keep the tears from forming in her eyes, the tremble out of her voice. "I saw enough. How could you Akihiko? How could you bring _that boy_ to here to "our" place?"

"I didn't think you would be here, Hiroki. That's why I asked you today if you were coming." Realizing how lame this sounded, Akihiko dropped his eyes and added softly. "Where else was I supposed to do it? I wanted to tell him in some place that was special."

Shame burned Hiroki's cheeks when she'd realized how foolish she had been in her imaginings of his question for her. She felt doubly betrayed: first by Akihiko and then by her own heart..

"You're right Akihiko, this place is special," Hiroki shouted; her small hands clenched at her sides, "but I thought it was special to 'us'!... This has been _our_ place and no one else's since we were small!

"Or have you brought others here as well?"

Akihiko glanced up, shocked by her words. Hiroki watched as a new pain was added to already heavy burden reflected in his lavender eyes.

"You're right, Hiroki. You should be furious with me." Akihiko stubbed out his cigarette and bowed his head, his words heartfelt and contrite. "I completely deserve it. I should have never brought Takahiro here knowing what this place means to you. I wasn't thinking, clearly…

"I'm sorry."

The sincerity in his voice only made Hiroki madder. "God damn it, Aki! Don't you dare be kind to me right now!"

She stepped up and kicked the sole of one of Akihiko's shoes. "Take your stupid apology back… I don't want it! How in the hell am I supposed to stay mad at you, dumb-ass, when you're so freaking understanding!"The exertion of her outrage had left her panting.

Akihiko looked up into blazing hazel eyes. Hiroki's fists were still clenched; her scarf had worked its way out of her coat and now hung precariously off of one shoulder.

Both stilled, each silently regarding the other. Then, despite the anguish still present in Akihiko's eyes, his lips curled into a small smile.

"You Jerk!" Hiroki exclaimed, kicking his shoe again, only this time without much force.

She stamped over and flopped down next to him on the ground, ignoring the sudden feeling of dampness that seeped up from the grass through her thin skirt. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back up against the tree.

"You're impossible, you know that. Right?"

"Yes," Akihiko replied simply, his tone much lighter now.

They sat in silence then, Hiroki focused on smoothing her skirt while Akihiko teased some blades of grass with his long fingers.

As they sat there, Hiroki's mind was awhirl. She knew she was stupid; she should still be furious with Akihiko. She understood too that she should abandon her feelings for him and just walk away. But she found she couldn't bring herself to do either of these things: Kamijou Hiroki was not the kind of person who gave her affections away easily and once her heart was engaged, it loved incredibly hard.

She sighed and her nervous fingers moved from straightening her pleated skirt to twisting wild auburn locks.

"Aki," she whispered softly. "Does this mean that you're a_ homo_?"

"Does it matter?" Akihiko said, miserably, not looking at her.

"No! It's just…"

"Look, Professor, I don't know… I never felt for anyone, boy or girl, the way I feel about Takahiro. I mean, from the first time I saw him, I knew he was… Special…"

"Uggh,"Akihiko groaned softly, obviously frustrated with his complicated emotions.

"You have no idea how much it hurts, knowing that he had no concept of the depths of my feelings for him. I thought I had been making it so clear…"

Though she remained silent, inwardly Hiroki sighed. _I just might have some idea._

However, as much as she hated to admit it, Akihiko's articulation of ambiguity revived her stubborn hopes.

_ If only I could show him how much I love him... If he isn't 100% homo, maybe he would realize that it should be me. _

_Maybe he could forget all about that stupid Takahiro._

"Aki?" Hiroki's heart was pounding in her chest. It seemed so loud in her ears she was surprised that the sound of it didn't send the birds on the branches surrounding them into flight.

"Hmmmm." Akihiko was deep in thought.

"Have you ever really kissed a girl?"

"Outside that one time when we were small, no. Why?" Akihiko glanced over at her, his expression confused. He had been hunched forward, but now he leaned back into the tree again and slid his long legs out straight in front of him.

"Well, maybe if you tried it... You'd find out you didn't like Takahiro so much after all."

"Ki-chan, don't be ridiculous! Akihiko snorted derisively.

"Besides, I'm not about to start going around kissing random girls in an attempt to fix my broken heart."

Hiroki knew that it was now or never.

She was surprised with her own grace and speed as she quickly slid over and straddled Akihiko's thighs. One of her small hands clutched the front of his jacket, the other took his angular jaw and tipped it up towards her.

"I'm not being ridiculous, Akihiko you ass. And I wasn't talking about some random girl!

"I was talking about me!"

Hiroki was suddenly aware of everything: the feel of the jean clad legs between her bare thighs; the smoothness of Akihiko's jaw beneath her fingers, the steady beating of his heart under her closed fist. But mostly she was conscious of the fact that he did not immediately push her off of him.

Akihiko just sat there with a stunned look on his face. "What are you doing Hiroki?" His voice betrayed neither anger nor pleasure, only a cool curiosity.

Hiroki's cheeks had never burned so brightly. She looked off to the side, unable to meet the wondering lavender gaze.

"When we were small, you kissed me once and it made me feel better. Allow me to return the favor now..." Hiroki whispered. "Maybe I can help make some of your pain go away,"

Looking back up and seeing the awe in Akihiko's eyes, Hiroki felt on the edge of losing her nerve. She could hardly bear being so open, so vulnerable. Without really even thinking about it, in an instant, she grabbed her scarf and wrapped it around Akihiko's head, binding his eyes, blindfolding him.

Resting her cheek against Akihiko's, her eyelashes brushed the soft fabric of the scarf. She shifted, her lips almost grazing his earlobe and whispered in his ear. "Don't look at me, just feel me."

Akihiko stayed passive throughout this, saying nothing, offering no protest. Hiroki wasn't sure whether this response should thrill or terrify, but she felt both.

Despite this, she kept Akihiko's cool face between her hands and leaned in for the kiss.

In that moment cool met warm.

Hiroki brushed her lips over the soft surface of Akihiko's mouth tentatively at first. Her lips embraced his upper lip first, tasting. Then they moved down capturing the lower. Beneath her, Akihiko began to respond.

Emboldened by this and the invisibility the blindfold provided her, Hiroki pressed further. Akihiko opened himself up, allowing her tongue entrance to his mouth.

Hiroki tasted the smoky flavor of the cigarettes on Akihiko's tongue. One of his hands reached up and clasped her wrist, just under his jaw. The other hand slid around and slipped up the back of her shirt, resting on her lower back, slightly above the waist of her skirt.

The chill of this hand sent shiver's racing up Hiroki's spine.

She pulled her mind off of the electric sensation of this touch and focused instead on pouring all of her feelings for Akihiko into her kiss. Hiroki tried to suck the memory of Takahiro out of Akihiko's mouth as though it were venom.

When at last, she broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard.

Akihiko's hands dropped and he turned his head to the side.

"Aki?" Hiroki whispered. It was more a plea than a question.

"Hiro…" Akihiko gasped in answer.

Hiroki waited for one breathless moment for him to finish saying her name. One syllable, two letters, it was so simple; it was all that she needed.

When these didn't come, she knew she had lost.

In an instant she pushed herself up off of Akihiko, grabbed her pack, and fled the enclosure.

Behind her, Akihiko slowly drew his knees back up, wrapping them with his long arms. His head dropped forward against them.

Curled silently into the pain of his double loss, Akihiko sat like that for some time, never once trying to take off the blindfold.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading.<strong>


	8. Heaven Sent

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Eight: Heaven Sent**

* * *

><p>While her body was still seated on the bench in the park, Hiroki's mind kept going back the enclosure. Her and Akihiko's "secret place" would now always be tainted by her shame.<p>

As much as she fought it, Hiroki couldn't help herself; the tears she had worked so hard to keep at bay finally overwhelmed her eyes and began falling.

_Dumb-ass boys, who needs them?_

_Not me!_

That was it: she was never going to give her heart to anyone else.

The more she thought about it, Hiroki realized that while she had started out thinking that Akihiko and Takahiro were the stupid ones, she was the real idiot here.

She suddenly wondered if there might not be something in Yoshida-sensei's arrangement that made better sense.

Just then, some heavy object fell from the sky and crashed in to the ground not three feet from where she was sitting. Hiroki yelped in surprise.

Less than a minute later, two small children walked up and started poking at the object, which, turned out to be a manually-launched, toy rocket.

"Waaakuuun!" one of the children yelled, a little boy maybe about five or six. "We found it!"

Hiroki was not a big fan of small children at the best of times and, given her current emotional state, particularly not right now. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and scowled at the little boy.

"What are you doing, yelling like that in a public park?" Unwittingly, Hiroki's volume matched the little boy's previous exclamation, decibel for decibel.

"There are people trying to think here! Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"

The children stared at Hiroki with wide eyes, the little boy in particular. His eyes began to glisten; his bottom lip trembled.

_Oh gods … Is it my fate to hurt every person I encounter today_?

"WAAAAAAKUUNNN!" the affronted boy wailed.

Then the tallest kid Hiroki had ever seen stepped up. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater that almost matched his shaggy, raven head and a pair of well-worn jeans. Stooping down next to the boy the tall youth draped one of his long arms over the youngster's shoulders.

"Hey, Ri-chan, it's okay. Look…" he said gently pulling the rocket out of the ground. "It's not even broken. I bet we can get it up in the air again even."

The little boy looked at "Wa-kun" and then over towards Hiroki. The older boy's gaze followed.

Hiroki had been watching the whole exchange from her spot on the bench. She started when the other teen's gaze met hers and she found herself staring into a pair of the deepest blue eyes she'd ever seen. She was horrified when the dark-haired boy smiled openly at her.

Immediately Hiroki dropped her head, her cheeks blushed fiercely.

_How humiliating! _She was sure the boy could tell that she'd been crying. She tried to sniffle quietly, but at the moment it sounded as loud to her as the small boy's shouting had a minute before.

Watching covertly from under her bangs, Hiroki saw the tall boy stand and hand the rocket to "Ri-chan."

"Look Riku, why don't you and Ami-chan, take the rocket back to the others and I'll be right there to help you set the rocket up again."

The little boy, Riku, knew enough of his foster brother's temperament. He figured his brother was probably going to try and comfort the angry girl, so he was a little reluctant to leave.

"Watch out Wa-kun. She's mean." He advised solemnly, nodding in Hiroki's direction before heading off with the rocket in one hand and his foster sister, Ami's hand in his other.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," the tall boy said, still smiling.

Hiroki's head had snapped back up momentarily when she'd heard the little boy call her mean.

_Stupid brat,_ she thought. But she dropped her head down again quickly, feeling strangely wounded. She supposed it wouldn't have hurt so much except the boy, Riku, was right.

_ I am mean._

Hiroki was sure that she would have had several other thoughts on the topic of her meanness, if it hadn't been for the fact a pair of large feet in a ragged pair of tennis shoes suddenly stepped into her downcast field of vision. Closing her eyes, Hiroki tried to will the other teen away.

True to the pattern for her day, however, she would have no such luck. Hiroki could feel the bench beneath her vibrate as the boy sat down beside her.

Looking over at him, she scowled, hoping this would drive him away. But the dark-haired boy seemed completely oblivious to her expression.

He had, however, noticed her pack and her shoe ornaments. "So you like pandas, huh?"

His tone was warm and his voice gentle. Hiroki found herself inadvertently comparing his speech to Akihiko's: this boy sounded like sunlight, whereas Akihiko sounded like smoke.

"That's a stupid question. I think it's rather obvious I do. I wouldn't have them if I hated them!" she snapped.

If she couldn't scowl him away, maybe she could shame him into retreat.

Tensing her shoulders, Hiroki waited for the boy's reaction. She expected him to shout something at her, call her a "bitch" or in the very least "rude" and storm away. Instead he just sat there, still smiling and looking thoughtful.

A hint of blush crept into his handsome cheeks. He scratched the back of his shaggy head and then, if it was possible, his smile brightened just a bit more.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

Hiroki was struggling to come up with some acid retort to this surprising gentle agreement, when suddenly she felt a hand, large and very warm, encircle her wrist.

"Come on." The boy pulled her up onto her feet, grabbing her panda pack with his other hand. He started leading her in the direction the two children had gone.

"What in the hell are you doing? How dare you touch me so familiarly, I don't even know you!" Hiroki tried to pull her hand out of the gentle but strong grasp.

Her anger did not seem to faze the boy in the least, nor her struggles. He just called over his shoulder as they kept moving forward. "My name's Kusama Nowaki, you can call me Nowaki.

"And you are?"

The last thing in the world Hiroki wanted to do was talk to this annoying (albeit very handsome) Nowaki boy. So she was surprised when she heard herself answer, "Kamijou Hiroki."

She was even more surprised by Nowaki's response.

"Hiroki is a nice name."

"It's a boy's name…" Hiroki grumbled, feeling her cheeks get red with this admission.

"Is it? Well it suits you." Nowaki looked back at her with a new smile. Hiroki found herself wondering how many different smiles Nowaki had in his repertoire.

"What do you mean it suits me?" she huffed. "Do I look like a boy to you?"

"I just meant… Well, it's a strong sounding name and you seem like a very strong person."

Hiroki eyed Nowaki to see if he was teasing her, but he didn't seem to be.

"And no, I don't think you look like a boy, you're way too cute. Plus, the skirt kind of gives you away."

"Arrrgh, I am not cute! Puppies are cute, babies are cute… and let go of my hand!" For a moment Hiroki had felt herself starting to soften, but now she'd worked herself back up into a rage.

"Okay, we're here anyway." Nowaki said releasing her.

They had reached another area of the park. Here, a group of four middle-aged men sat together on a blanket on the ground. There were cans of sweet tea, bags of various kind of snacks, and fresh fruit covering the space between them. About a dozen children were playing nearby.

"Wa-kun, did you find another orphan on your adventure?" One of the old men joked.

Nowaki just smiled. "This is Kamijou Hiroki," he introduced Hiroki to the men.

Then he looked at Hiroki. "Stay here for a bit. Okay Hiro-san?"

As he said this he reached out and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do, he brushed a bit of Hiroki's ever-straying auburn hair, tucking it back behind her ear. The touch of his warm finger tracing the sensitive edge of her ear made Hiroki's knees so weak, she had no choice but to sink down and was soon sitting on the blanket, next to one of the old men.

Hiroki found herself watching as Nowaki walked away from the party on the blanket and over into the group of children gathered around the retrieved rocket. Looking at the way the younger kids clamored all over him as soon as he arrived it was obvious they loved him.

"So, Kamijou, huh?" Hiroki heard one of the men say. She turned her attention back to the group sitting on the blanket. The man next to her stuck a newly opened can of tea in her hand.

"Any relation to Kamijou Corp?

Hiroki nodded. "Yes, Sir. That's my father." She wished the old men would go away so she could continue to sulk in silence.

"Really?" The men brightened and soon four business cards were pressed into her hands.

"Maybe you would pass these on to him?"

Hiroki took them reluctantly. _What kind of losers would spend their afternoon hanging around in a park with a bunch of kids?_

Obviously the men couldn't be gainfully employed. And how crass to try and ingratiate themselves to her, so they could try and get some sort of handout from her father.

Looking at the cards however, Hiroki almost choked on the sip of sweet tea she had just taken.

_No way!_ All four of them were corporate presidents.

"Our Nowaki over there is the reason that we get together like this," One of the men said seeing the surprise on Hiroki's face.

"Rather a special boy," another man added.

"He was raised at the Kusama Orphanage. He left last year as they were getting overcrowded and now shares an apartment with five other boys."

"He quit school and has six part-time jobs right now, just to get by," a third man interjected as he pushed himself up off the blanket with a grunt and went to assist Nowaki with the rocket. "But still, he manages to give a little money to the orphanage every month. He says he wants to run it someday."

As her gaze followed the old man over towards Nowaki, Hiroki thought the lanky youth looked like a beetle overcome by an army of ants. The smaller children had somehow managed to pull him down to the ground and were climbing all over him. Hiroki was astonished to note that rather than being infuriated with this (as she would have been) Nowaki was laughing and honestly looked like he was enjoying himself as much as the children.

"Nowaki's the one who contacted all of us and arranged these outings for the children twice a month."

Hiroki looked at the man who said this. He had a thin mustache and she thought it made him look like a bit of a pervert. She took another sip of her tea, her brow furrowed with thought. Then she asked, "If he's so great, then why don't you help him? Give him a scholarship or something so he can keep going to school?"

The man seated closest to her shook his head and said in a voice that sounded rather frustrated, "We've tried, but the boy has his own brand of pride. He's determined to make his way in the world on his own."

Hiroki looked down at the blanket as she considered this. She knew a thing or two about pride. Still, she thought this Nowaki boy was a bit stupid not to accept their help.

_What kind of person does that?_

_Saint Aki, eat your heart out,_ she thought bitterly. Glancing back up, Hiroki saw that the rocket had successfully launched and come down again, this time without almost killing someone.

"Okay kids that was the last time. We've got to get you back or the Kusama's will start to get worried." The man who had been helping Nowaki said. There was unified groan from the collection of small fry, but the children began to obediently gather their things.

Hiroki noticed Nowaki heading back towards the direction of the blanket.

"Ummm, nice to meet you all and thanks for the tea, but I'd better be going myself." Hiroki, said rather hurriedly. Her fickle knees seemed to have now made a complete recovery as she stood up off the blanket.

After straightening her skirt, Hiroki grabbed her pack and started walking away quickly, hoping to avoid talking with Nowaki again. He made her feel nervous in a way she didn't quite understand.

"Strange girl." One of the men said, watching the small auburn-haired figure recede from view as they too began to rise and gather things together.

"And isn't Hiroki a boy's name?" the man with the pervert mustache asked.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	9. New Tutor

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Nine: New Tutor**

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><p>All but running, Hiroki just managed to reach the edge of the park before Nowaki caught up with her.<p>

"Hiro-san, wait," Nowaki called out.

"Why are you following me?" Hiroki shouted, turning around to face her unwanted stalker.

Nowaki stopped just a few feet away and gazed at her with a warm curiosity that made Hiroki blush.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay. I mean, when I first saw you, it looked as though you had been crying pretty hard."

The nerve of this impudent boy, pointing out her tears; Hiroki's pride was sorely threatened. "I was not crying! I had something in my eye!"

"Whatever you say, Hiro-san." Beneath heavy, black bangs Nowaki's blue eyes shone with amusement.

"What's with this 'Hiro-san' crap?" Hiroki asked, her voice still cross, but not nearly as loud.

"Well, um, you're definitely not a _kun._" Nowaki rubbed the back of his neck with one of his large hands. "And _chan_, seems too diminutive for someone with such an imposing spirit. So _san_ seemed the most appropriate, I guess." He shrugged a bit as he said this.

Hiroki scowled, but the idea that she had an imposing spirit secretly pleased her. Plus, the fact that this Nowaki had the ability to use a four syllable word in casual conversation indicated to her, despite how he looked (which was subtly fluffy in some way, kind of like a giant puppy), that the other teen was not a complete muffin-head. So, for now, she decided against her better judgment to let it slide.

"Look, I have to get home!" Hiroki spun on her heels and starting to walk again, only this time not quite so quickly. "My mom thinks I'm at the library and if I'm too late she'll start asking questions."

She was simultaneously tickled and annoyed when Nowaki simply moved with her, falling in step at her side.

"I'll walk with you a bit then?" Nowaki offered this as a question. Hiroki was silent and he took this as consent.

"Do you spend a lot of time at the library?" he asked after they'd walked a bit. "Cause you look really smart."

Hiroki scowled at this.

"What's wrong, Hiro-san?"

Though he had only known her for a few minutes, already Nowaki sensed there was something a little different in this furrowing of the cute teen's brow.

"I'm a girl, dumb-ass… Telling me I look smart… You might have as just as well told me I'm _ugly_."

Nowaki looked instantly perplexed. "Who made up that rule?

"Besides, I meant it as a compliment and anyway, you _do_ look smart and I happen to I think you are very cu… I mean, pretty."

"I didn't say that so that you would feel you had to throw a compliment at me," Hiroki muttered, suddenly flustered.

"I know."

Nowaki's agreeableness was starting to get under Hiroki's skin.

It was so unlike Akihiko, with his little jabs and constant contradictions. Aki was always trying to get a rise out of her. Nowaki, on the other hand, was succeeding at this beautifully without even trying.

_Why am I even comparing the two?_

"So what school do you go to, Hiro-san?" Nowaki it seemed was intent on keeping the conversation going, despite all the verbal blocks that Hiroki tried to throw in his way.

"I go to 'N' Academy."

Nowaki let out a low whistle. "Wow, you really must be smart then! I heard that place is very hard to get into."

"I guess," Hiroki shrugged; she'd never really given it much thought.

Nowaki seemed to hesitate for a moment. Hiroki glanced up him.

_How tall is this kid anyway?_

It kind of pissed her off that nature should bequeath so much height on just one person. Hiroki herself had always been a bit insecure about how short she was. She was annoyed by the sudden idea that maybe the cosmos had stolen some of her centimeters and had given them to Nowaki.

Still, those blue eyes, that smile, his shaggy hair- badly in need of a trim and so black in color that it was almost blue. Hiroki remembered the feel of Nowaki's warm flesh against the edge of her ear, so different than Akihiko's cool touch and yet somehow disconcertingly similar.

_No. Wait!_ Hiroki caught herself. Y_ou just swore off boys an hour ago. Remember? Don't let one casual touch and a handsome face sway you._

"Absolutely not!" she agreed out loud.

"Hiro-san?"

Hiroki shook her head slightly returning to the present. She suddenly realized that they had stopped walking and that Nowaki had just asked her a question.

"What?"

"I said, _I wondered if you might be willing to tutor me_?" Nowaki was looking at her intently, trying hard not to lose himself in the depths of wonderfully large, hazel eyes.

"I have the opportunity to start taking some night courses at 'TCC 1,' but since I dropped out of school, I have to pass an equivalency test in order to be able to apply.

"Would you help me?"

He looked so sweetly earnest Hiroki was tempted. But she also needed to consider her new (though rapidly weakening) resolve. She also was quite certain that spending any more time with this boy was likely only going to lead getting hurt again and there was no way she was about to let that happen.

"How old are you anyway?" She asked suspiciously.

"Fifteen."

"What?" Hiroki was shocked that despite how tall he was, Nowaki was a whole year younger than her. _Just a brat really._

No, with this new information she definitely didn't want to get involved.

"No, no... I can't tutor you. I have too much to do as it is already: swimming, gymnastics, piano, literature club. Plus, all my advanced courses."

"Wow, Hiro-san! I could tell when I first saw you that you were an amazing person but I had no idea." Nowaki's eyes radiated admiration.

Hiroki blushed and found herself even more infuriatingly flustered. So much so, in fact she forgot to yell. "I didn't tell you that to brag or anything."

Nowaki just smiled; then he asked again, "Please, Hiro-san. It would mean a lot to me." One of his large warm hands gently encircled her wrist.

Hiroki felt the heat in her face drip all the way down into the lower-half of her body. Her traitorous knees started to tremble.

_What is it about this boy?_

She knew she needed to flee now before her legs gave out again.

"No! No way! Find someone else!" She shouted, wrenching her arm free from Nowaki's grasp and running towards the street.

"But I don't want anyone else, Hiro-san... I want you!" Nowaki called from behind her.

Hiroki could tell by the sound of his voice he was rapidly gaining on her. She picked up her pace and stepped off of the curb into the street. She was so intent on getting away from Nowaki, she hadn't really bothered to look at the lights.

"Hiro-san!"

Hiroki heard Nowaki's panicked voice the same moment as the car's horn. The next thing she knew, she was lying near the sidewalk on her side. Nowaki's incredibly warm body was pressed against hers, his long arms wrapped around her middle. Her breath had all but been knocked out of her.

The car that had almost hit her stopped. A tall blond man in a physician's smock stepped out of the car.

"Hey! Are you okay?" He moved up to them.

Nowaki released Hiroki reluctantly as she sat up, trying to catch her breath.

"What were you thinking running out into traffic like that?" The young man barked, though it was obvious he was as shaken as Hiroki by the close call. Then he asked again, his voice much gentler this time, "Are you okay?"

Hiroki was still regaining her wind; her face was flush with embarrassment as people on the sidewalk had stopped to watch. She stood up slowly and dusted herself off.

"I'm fine," she wheezed.

"And how about you?" The blond asked Nowaki, who was also struggling to get to his feet.

Hiroki was horrified to see that Nowaki had a bloody abrasion on his cheek and a much worse looking one running the length of one of his forearms where he'd slid into the pavement after grabbing her.

Finally managing to stand, Nowaki ignored the man's question and instead walked, limping slightly, over to Hiroki.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hiro-san?" Nowaki's eyes traveled over her, filled with genuine concern.

"I'm fine!" Hiroki snapped now that she had her full breath back. She was mortified by the wounded boy's attention.

"Anyway," She mumbled, her tone much less strident, "seeing your arm you should be more concerned about yourself, dumb-ass."

"Look..." The handsome blond interrupted. "My name's Tsumori, I'm a medical intern over at the General. I've got my bag in my car... Why don't you come over and let me fix up that arm?"

As he started to follow Tsumori, Nowaki seemed a bit wobbly. Hiroki couldn't help herself; she ducked under one of his long arms to help support Nowaki as he limped to the medical student's car.

Tsumori, who had reached it ahead of them, had already gotten out his medical bag. He looked over his shoulder at the two approaching teens.

"You know you're really lucky your boyfriend grabbed you. Otherwise I would have hit you for sure."

Hiroki looked up at Nowaki and saw him grin like an idiot as soon as Tsumori said the word "boyfriend."

"Are your legs okay, Nowaki?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're fine, I think I just bruised my hip when I fell," Nowaki assured her.

"Hrmmmph. Good," Hiroki said immediately throwing off his arm.

"Ummm... but it does really hurt" Nowaki amended. "And having you walk with me like that, was really helping, Hiro-san" .

Hiroki looked at Nowaki with new eyes: puppy looking or not, there was a certain slyness in him she suddenly realized.

_I'm going to have to watch out for this one._

"No way. You're fine. Besides, we're here now," She said, indicating the intern's car.

Hiroki expected Nowaki to become sullen or pout, but he just looked at her with mirth in his eyes and gave her another ice melting smile.

"You should be nicer to your boyfriend…"Tsumori teased as he started cleaning the wound on Nowaki's arm. "Otherwise someone else might just come and steal him away from you."

Hiroki was about to tell the medical student that Nowaki wasn't her boyfriend, but something about Tsumori set her teeth on edge, so she remained silent.

Then Hiroki looked at the time on her phone. She needed to go, but she didn't feel right leaving Nowaki there with Tsumori. She felt she should at least stay with him until all his injuries had been doctored.

"Nowaki, I have to call my mom and tell her I'm going to be late," She stepped away from the two young men.

Nowaki winced as Tsumori touched some antiseptic to the scrape on his cheek. "Okay, Hiro-san." His voice still sounded incredibly cheerful.

When Hiroki had finished talking with her mother and came back to Tsumori's car, she saw that he and Nowaki were laughing; the two had apparently been having a lively conversation the whole time she'd been gone.

_Is there anyone that this guy doesn't get along with? _

Her brow furrowed instantly when she saw Tsumori write something down on a slip of paper and give it to Nowaki before he climbed back into his car and pulled away.

_His number, most likely, with my recent luck. _

"What was all that?"

Hiroki cursed herself, noting her voice sounded just the tiniest bit jealous. Nowaki noticed and tried hard not to smile, intuiting that it would only make her mad again.

"Oh, Tsumori told me that there might be some work for me at the hospital and that I should come by and he'd introduce me to some people there. It might be really interesting have a job some place like that.

"I always thought it would be really cool to be a doctor or some other profession where you got to help people every day.

Like Tsumori helped me. Look, Hiro-san." Nowaki proudly showed her his gauze-wrapped arm. "Good as new."

"Yeah, about that." Hiroki was carefully studying the pandas on her shoes once again.

"I'm sorry about your arm… and thank you… for saving me." She blushed about ten different shades of pink as she stammered out her thanks.

"Ahhh, I did save you, didn't I?!" Nowaki's wily look was back. "So I guess then, Hiro-san… You kind of owe me."

Hiroki's eyes widened momentarily at Nowaki's brashness "So what do you want?

"And it better not be perverted," She added, her cheeks growing hot.

"Tutor me, please Hiro-san," Nowaki's slyness disappeared and the puppy returned.

_Damn, who could resist those eyes?_

"Fine," Hiroki conceded. "But were going to do this on my terms and at my convenience! Got it?"

"Of course Hiro-san!" Came Nowaki's enthusiastic reply.

Hiroki looked at the handsome boy standing in front of her with the idiot grin. She rolled her eyes.

_What in the hell am I getting myself into?_

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	10. Kitchen Karma

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Ten: Kitchen Karma**

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><p>Akihiko sat in the clearing for hours. During this time he smoked almost an entire pack of cigarettes. Now his nerves burned and buzzed with nicotine, but he'd at least finally gotten the hang of this smoking thing.<p>

_Nasty habit, really._ Frowning down at the nearly finished butt in his hand, he stubbed it out and sighed. He'd decided, now that he'd mastered it, he'd quit smoking tomorrow.

Looking overhead into the open space of the clearing, it appeared a storm might be rolling in.

_Fitting,_ he thought, given his mood. Akihiko was aware too that in addition to the ache in his chest he felt a bit sick. He wondered if this was the result of the cigarettes or the afternoon's calamitous events.

Just then his phone rang. Looking down at the number he was shocked to see it was Takahiro. His heart started pounding; he honestly hadn't expected the other boy to speak to him ever again after what had happened.

"Hello?" The hoarseness of his voice surprised him.

"Usagi? Are you okay?" On the other side of the line, the speaker sounded concerned.

Akihiko sighed: it was Misaki.

The boy had mispronounced, his last name the first time they had been introduced and somehow it had stuck.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Misaki. How about you? How's the fever?"

"Oh, much better. All gone in fact and thank you again for getting that medicine for me last night. I didn't mean for you to have to go all the way across town for it."

Despite how miserable he still felt, Akihiko couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this. Misaki was so sweet, never wanting anyone to go out of their way for him.

"Misaki, I told you before it wasn't a problem, so drop it. Okay?" Akihiko kept his voice very light as he said this so that the boy wouldn't think he was mad at him. Misaki was also terribly sensitive.

"So… Why are you calling? Miss me already?" Akihiko teased. Something about Takahiro's little brother enticed him to provoke. He supposed this was partly because Misaki flustered even more easily than Hiroki.

_If that was possible._

Even now, he could almost feel the heat from Misaki's blush through the phone.

"Yes… Wait ! I mean no!… No, Usagi… You… Gaaah!…Why do you always say such embarrassing things?"

In the same way Akihiko could sense the heat on Misaki's cheeks, on his end, the younger boy could practically hear Akihiko's smug smile.

"Stupid Usagi… Look, my brother asked me to call you and see if you still had his books in your book bag."

Misaki had managed to pull himself back together enough to once again form relatively coherent sentences.

"He needs them to do his homework… And he also wanted me to ask you if you were still coming over to have dinner with us to celebrate his birthday tonight… He said he had something he wanted to tell us too.

I cooked you know, so, umm… Well… it would be nice if you could come." The phone practically hummed with Misaki's embarrassment.

"When did he ask you to call, Misaki?"

"Ummm… Like maybe about forty-five minutes ago. Why?

"I mean… I'm sorry I should have called you earlier, but I was making some pastries for our dessert and got involved… So, uhhhh… So anyway, here I am, calling you now."

When Misaki told him this, Akihiko's breath caught in his throat. Takahiro's sweet, forgiving spirit and his inherent affability were big parts of what had attracted Akihiko to him in the first place.

While mildly disappointed Takahiro hadn't called himself that he even still wanted him to come, was willing to see him, meant so much.

"So, Usagi-san… Would you maybe like to come over now? I know that my brother won't be home for a while yet… But uh… Maybe you could watch me bake… Or something?"

Akihiko immediately understood the implicit request in Misaki's words

Since their parents' death and until Takahiro finished school and could start working, the Takahashi brothers had moved into the cheapest apartment they could find to stretch the money left by their parents' meager estate and small insurance policy. Both boys also already had part-time jobs. Thirteen year-old Misaki worked in a bakery and sixteen year-old Takahiro had recently started as an errand boy/file clerk for a local accounting firm.

Their apartment was in a bad part of the city and Misaki often felt nervous being left alone, though Akihiko knew that he would never just come out and say this.

The older boy hesitated too long before answering and Misaki, constantly worried about asking too much of anyone when it came to his needs, was already beating himself up for making the request.

"Look, Usagi-san… I'm sorry for asking you to come early… I was stupid, I know… I'm an idiot."

"No, no, Misaki. I'm delighted you asked me!" Akihiko cursed silently for allowing himself to slip unconsciously into the cultured tones belying his upbringing. He made a concerted effort to sound more casual, not wanting to intimidate Misaki.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything at the moment anyway, so I'll leave here right now. I can be there in fifteen minutes."

"Really?" The relief in Misaki's voice was like a salve to Akihiko's wounded heart.

"Yeah, just don't ask me to help you cook. Okay?" Akihiko joked.

"Are you kidding, Usagi?" Misaki laughed. "As if I'd let you touch anything in my kitchen. We both know what a disaster you are!"

"See you soon then, Misaki." Akihiko's usually cool tone was remarkably warm.

On the other end of the line, Misaki noticed the difference immediately and his face grew hot in a slightly different way than it had previously.

_What in the hell is wrong with me?_ Misaki thought as he hung up the phone. Then turning to look at the stove, he saw a thin wisp of gray smoke curlingup from the oven door.

"God damn you, Usagi!" he suddenly shouted. "How in the heck did you manage to transmit your kitchen karma over the freakin' phone?"

Grabbing an oven mitt, Misaki dove for the door of the oven, any thoughts of the previous moments' discomfort blessedly banished.

Meanwhile, in his "secret place," Akihiko at last up picked himself off ground. He grabbed his book bag from where it sat, near the base of the tree. As he slid its strap over his shoulder, he realized he still had Hiroki's gray scarf draped around his neck.

Lavender eyes scrutinized the cloth, the lone witness to their tragic debacle, and he sighed.

He started to pull it off, planning to stick into his bag, and then thought the better of it. It was getting cool now that the sun was almost gone, so instead he re-wrapped it around his neck against the chill of the encroaching autumn evening.

_Kamijou may have her pride_, _but.._. Touching the scarf again, Akihiko knew that Hiroki wouldn't really be able to stay away from him for too long.

A slightly bitter smile twisted one corner of his mouth at this knowledge. Then he began ambling easily out of the clearing, into the brush and into a night. After all, with Misaki's call, his world still held a whisper of promise.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<br>**


	11. Unexpected News

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Eleven: Unexpected News**

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><p>When Akihiko arrived at the Takahashi brothers' apartment, Misaki greeted him enthusiastically at the door. Stepping out of his shoes and into the small, warm space, Akihiko inhaled the fragrant aromas of Misaki's cooking.<p>

Coming into their home, Akihiko was always amazed at how clean the two brother's apartment was. According to Takahiro, this was mostly Misaki's doing, according to Takahiro. Misaki knew his older brother was making a lot of sacrifices so that they could stay together and keeping their home in a pristine state was one way he knew he could show his appreciation.

Misaki's sort of domestic propensity was beyond Akihiko's understanding. At the Usami estate there was a fleet of maids constantly hovering around and yet, he still couldn't manage to keep his room clean. His father said it was because he had too much stuff: Akihiko had been a collector since he was a child and refused to let anything go, even when something new came in.

Despite how shabby their flat was; the love that the Takahashi brothers had for each other was tangible the moment one walked in. It permeated every corner. At times Akihiko found this overwhelming, and yet, he always felt a terrible ache whenever he had climb out of the temperate pool of the struggling boys' tiny domicile, only to have to dive back into the vast frigid depths of his father's mansion.

"Here are Hiro's books." Akihiko held these out to Misaki.

"Thanks, Usagi! I know bro was really getting a little worried about whether or not he'd be able to get his homework done tonight."

Misaki's green eyes glowed with gratitude as he took the books and set them on a low table just inside the narrow front hall.

Akihiko followed Misaki towards the kitchen. He'd known the two brothers for months now but still had a hard time comprehending how boys, who shared the same parents, could look so completely different.

Though smaller than Akihiko, Takahiro was still tall and broad compared to his younger brother who was very petite and lithe. Takahiro had black hair and dark eyes to match, hidden behind thick glasses. The specs made him look smarter and more perceptive than he actually was. Misaki, on the other hand, had chocolaty-brown hair and huge, green eyes. And though the younger boy seemed like a bit of a space cadet, unlike Takahiro, he was incredibly attuned to whatever was going on emotionally within the people around him.

Tonight, Akihiko noticed that Misaki had on striped socks, one fallen down around a thin ankle. He wore a tight t-shirt and baggy shorts that came down just past his knees. The topper to this particular ensemble, however, was the frilled pink apron Misaki was wearing.

Akihiko thought the boy looked adorable but he refrained from teasing here, as he suspected that the apron had belonged to Misaki's mother.

Neither of the Takahashi brothers spoke much of their parents to anyone outside of each other but Takahiro had once told him Misaki had loved cooking with their mother and helped in the kitchen from the time he was very small.

Akihiko paused to watch Misaki now as the younger boy moved expertly around the kitchen. His bare legs and thick hair were both highlighted by the warm yellow of the overhead light. Akihiko realized it was actually a rather stirring sight.

Looking up from the oven where he was pulling out three large puff pastry shells, Misaki caught the older boy's appraising lavender gaze. His cheeks bloomed pink and he almost dropped the baking tray.

He was able to save the pastries, just barely, but he had no sooner gotten the tray set safely on the top of the stove than his emerald eyes flashed at Akihiko.

"Usagi, back up! I don't want your catastrophic cooking energy coming into my kitchen. This is already my second batch, thanks to you!"

Misaki stepped over and drew an invisible line with one striped toe.

"Don't come past here!"

"And if I do?" Akihiko flashed a slightly wicked grin and stepped over the line, up close to Misaki. He raised one eyebrow and smirked.

"What are you going to do to me, Misaki?… If I do 'cross over the line' with you?"

Misaki's eyes widened and the blush on his cheeks sweetly darkened. Then, just as Akihiko anticipated, the boy suddenly exploded in a violent flurry of protest.

"Come on, Usagi… You dork!… Back up!"

Small, warm hands pressed to Akihiko's chest as Misaki attempted to push him out of the kitchen.

"I'm serious… you Dumb Bunny!… I don't want my kitchen destroyed!

"Out… Out!"

Having provoked the reaction he was looking for, Akihiko chuckled and acquiesced, allowing Misaki to slowly push him back past the invisible line. He surprised himself, however, by resisting just a bit more than he'd intended, just so he could linger a few moments longer under the sensation of Misaki's touch.

"All right you win!"

Akihiko gave Misaki a rare smile and finally glided over to the other side of the bar-like counter that separated the Kitchen from the dining area.

"How's this?" He asked as he leaned against the counter.

Misaki offered his own easy, but self-conscious smiles. "Good. Now stay there!"

He poured cream into a bowl and started whipping, preparing the filling for the pastries. Akihiko decided to humor Misaki's decree and so, for once, he minded.

As he watched Misaki, Akihiko felt a vague niggling the back of his mind. He was shocked to realize he wanted another cigarette already, though it had not been that long ago since he'd finished that pack. He started feeling around in his pockets to see if maybe he'd secreted one somewhere.

"What are you looking for Usagi?" Misaki asked curiously.

"Cigarette."

"That a disgusting habit. You should quit before you get addicted."

"Too late ,I think," Akihiko growled.

"Well," Misaki snorted, "you won't find any here. My brother would have my head if he thought I was even just considering taking a drag! Why don't you make yourself useful? Take your mind off it and finish setting the table for me?"

Akihiko looked at the stacked plates on the counter. "Okay."

As he set the three plates on the table Misaki had rather festively decorated he asked. "How is school going?"

The topic of school usually disheartened Misaki: while he was not stupid, he just didn't have the attention span needed for class work. But tonight he surprised Akihiko. He brightened, set his whisk down, and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. It contained his most recent marks.

"Here, Usagi-san, take a look!"

Akihiko thought it was cute watching Misaki try to downplay his obvious pride.

Lavender eyes widened, taking in the grades and Akihiko's smile crooked upwards far more than usual.

"Hey, this is great!"

All of Misaki's grades had raised at least one level, most of them two.

"Your brother is going to be so happy to see this!"

"Well I couldn't have done it without your help… So…umm… Thanks for all the time you've spent tutoring me, when… When you been over here visiting my brother." Misaki said this earnestly, though he felt a twinge of disappointment at the realization that Usagi might have been helping him more for Takahiro than for him.

Akihiko noticed this subtle shift in energy as he handed the report back. He watched Misaki shove it somewhat dejectedly back into his pocket and take up his whipping again.

"So, how are things going at the bakery?" Akihiko found the more solemn Misaki disconcerting and knew that baking talk always got him wound up. Misaki was always eager to discuss new recipes, some baking secret he had just learned, or a crazy client request that had come in.

"Fine I guess," Misaki answered somewhat hesitantly. "I mean… I really like it a lot."

Akihiko looked closely at the younger boy, there was something not quite right in Misaki's tone. "Misaki, what's wrong?"

Misaki looked up in shock. "What… What makes you think something is wrong, Usagi?" he set the bowl he'd been holding to the side.

"Come on, Misaki… I know you well enough by now. I can hear there's something wrong by the sound of your voice.

Misaki looked down, running a nervous hand through this hair.

"It's just that your older brother…. Usami-san… Uhhh… He's been coming into the shop a lot lately."

At the mention of Haruhiko, Akihiko's eyes instantly narrowed in displeasure. Misaki noticed this immediately.

"I mean, it's no big deal….Really, Usagi-san."

Akihiko, however, had caught Misaki's gaze and now pinned him just as effectively as if he were physically gripping the younger boy. "No Misaki… Go on.

"I know there's more."

Misaki was very uneasy now, but he blurted out, "Yeah, well… uh Usami-san, told me the other day that he liked me… He laughed weakly at the ridiculousness of the older Usami's confession.

Akihiko's suddenly dark expression scared him into a halt.

"I mean… That's pretty funny, right, Usagi-san?… A guy telling another guy… Uh, that he likes him?…" Misaki managed to look away as he said this.

When Misaki glanced back up at him, Akihiko was startled: it seemed as though there was another unasked question beneath the one Misaki had just asked.

_Could it be that Misaki is…_

He shook his pale head.

"Look Misaki, if that ass Haru is bothering you, just let me know and I'll deal with him!"

"Oh…No ,Usagi!… It's nothing like that… I don't want to cause any trouble between you guys!… Although, he has been sending me all these strawberries lately for some reason."

Misaki pointed over to the counter behind him where three cartons of the fruit were stacked. "It's not that I don't appreciate it… It's just that it's gotten to be a bit overwhelming."

"Got it." Akihiko's voice was cool though inside he was raging.

_How dare that fucking asshole bother my Misaki!_

"I'll be right back." Akihiko moved and stepped outside onto the apartment's small balcony. He slid the door closed behind him, cutting off Misaki's worried protests as he flipped open his phone.

"What the hell do you want?" Came Haruhiko's irritated greeting.

"I want you to stay the fuck away from Misaki!"

Haruhiko snorted into Akihiko's ear. "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, Aki? Just because you have his brother on your leash doesn't mean you own Misaki too!"

Akihiko was surprised by the rage that welled up in him and by the words that followed. "Fuck off, Haru. Misaki's mine!"

He flipped his phone shut and turned it off a moment later when it began to buzz angrily with an incoming call from Haruhiko. He stepped back into the apartment from the balcony at the same moment Takahiro stumbled into the hallway.

"Misaki, I'm home!" Takahiro called cheerfully as he bent down to take off his shoes.

Misaki, who had been watching through the sliding glass door for signs of what might be transpiring out on the balcony, felt his heart slip just a little, when he saw how happy Takahiro's arrival made Usagi-san.

_I wish I could make Usagi smile like that,_ he thought as he came out of the kitchen to see his brother.

Then Misaki stopped short. _Gahhhh! What in the hell am I saying? We're both guys!_

Takahiro had come fully into the main room now. "Aki, I'm so glad you could come!"

Despite the happy greeting, Akihiko initially extended a hesitant arm around Takahiro's shoulders in welcome, only to have it met equally and warmly. It seemed as though, for Takahiro, the events of the afternoon had never happened.

"Well, I couldn't miss my best friend's birthday."

_Hiroki forgive me._

Takahiro smiled his amazing smile in response to this and Akihiko's heart fluttered with happiness at just being able to be this close to his unrequited again. He pulled a small velvet bag out of one of his pockets.

"Besides I needed to get your books back to you. And… I also wanted to be able to give you _this_."

"What's this, Aki?" Takahiro's smile became bemused as he took the bag.

Akihiko shrugged. "It's that watch I saw you looking at, when we were out together the other day."

Takahiro's expression immediately became concerned; he tried to hand the gift back. "Oh, Akihiko, Thank you, but no…

"I can't accept this… That watch was really expensive."

"Nonsense!" Akihiko dropped his hands so that Takahiro couldn't put the watch in them. "I really want you to have it.

"Besides, you should be allowed to indulge in something a bit extravagant at least once a year."

After another moment of hesitance, Takahiro's expression was overcome with gratitude. "Well, if you insist. Thank you Aki."

Misaki watched all of this from the sidelines.

_Usagi almost __seems__ happier to be able to give his gift, than my brother is to receive it…_

Something about this made him feel annoyed with his brother. Then, Misaki noticed Takahiro hadn't bothered to close the front door behind him and his agitation only increased.

"Takahiro, you dork! You left the door open!"

Reprimanding his brother, Misaki moved into the hallway to shut it. "In this neighborhood? What are you thinking? And I have the heat on too…

"We're not made of money you know…"

Misaki ceased his rant when he realized that a young woman had just started pushing her way in through the door at the same time he was trying to close it.

He moved aside to allow the newcomer in. At the same time, Takahiro was gently disentangling himself from Akihiko, who had put his arm around him again.

Stepping over to the girl, Takahiro took her arm, guiding her into the apartment.

"Sorry for coming in late. I forgot the cake in the car…" The girl sounded a little breathless.

Misaki looked disapprovingly at the bakery box she held in one of her hands.

"I told her I'd get it, or at least go with her, but she insisted on getting it herself." Takahiro grinned uncomfortably at the other two boys.

"Modern women, what can I say?" He shrugged helplessly.

"_Takahiro_…" The girl gave him a gentle nudge in the ribs with her elbow for his comment. But she still looked quite happy. "I just didn't want him to peek in it and ruin the surprise!"

She handed the cake box to Misaki who took it with a frown and went in to the kitchen. When he came out, while he was minus the cake box, the frown still remained.

"Misaki, Akihiko…" Takahiro finally seemed to remember his manners. "This is what I wanted to tell you guys, or more accurately, whom I wanted you to meet.

"This is Kajiwara Manami. She goes to 'G' Academy and works at the office with me. We've been spending a lot of time together there recently and I just asked her to be my girlfriend.

"I wanted you two to be the first to know." Takahiro beamed at Manami.

Manami leaned into Takahiro, taking his arm a little more tightly. "He just showed up at work this afternoon, even though he wasn't scheduled to work today and asked me. It was so sweet!"

She giggled, "He said if I accepted, _it would be the best present he could ever get for his birthday!_" Manami was obviously tickled about the whole thing. So much so, that she didn't even seem to notice the stunned faces on the two boys in front of her.

Akihiko recovered much more quickly that Misaki: in situations like this his familial training came in quite handy. He stepped up and clapped Takahiro on the back.

"Congratulations, Hiro! She's lovely." He took up Manami's hand with a gallant swoop. "I am guessing since you're here, you accepted and have now made all Hiro's birthday wishes come true."

Manami laughed and blushed prettily at Akihiko's flattery.

Underneath this, in a voice that was barely audible, Misaki grumbled, "I only made enough dinner for three."

Manami and Takahiro didn't hear him, but Akihiko did. Before Misaki had a chance to repeat himself, he cleared his throat. "Well, Takahiro… I am so sorry that I won't be able to stay and join you for dinner. But I did want to give you your present.

"While not quite the gift that some gave you, I'm pleased you liked it."

"Oh, I love it Aki!" Takahiro's eyes darkened with disappointment. "But are you sure you have to go?"

"So sorry, Hiro, but, well, … Hiroki called me and is having a crisis over something she's working on for the festival this weekend. I promised I'd go over and help her sort it out. Can't really say 'no' to her. You know how she gets."

Takahiro gave Akihiko a sympathetic look and shivered at the thought of what his friend was bound to encounter.

Just then a loud "BUMP" startled them. Manami, Takahiro and Akihiko all looked over in shock to see that Misaki had slammed his fist into the wall.

"Akihiko can't go yet! He's out of cigarettes and I told him I'd go get him a pack."

"Misaki, what are you saying?" Takahiro looked perplexed. "You don't approve of smoking and no one's going to sell to you anyway; you're too young."

"Fine," Misaki stammered as he grabbed Akihiko's arm and pulled the older teen along with him, heading for the door, pausing only long enough to grab their coats and Akihiko's book bag.

"Usagi can go with me then!" He practically shoved Akihiko out the door ahead of him before slamming it behind them.

The new couple watched all this rapidly unfold before them in stunned silence.

"Should you go after him?" Manami blinked wide eyes at Takahiro, not quite sure about what had just transpired.

"Oh no." Takahiro smiled, completely oblivious as usual. "Misaki will be fine since he's with Akihiko.

"I just hope getting those cigarettes doesn't make Aki too late to Kamijou-san's." He shuddered involuntarily again at the thought. Then he brightened.

"So, now I'm all curious about the surprise in that cake box. Will you show me?"

Manami thought a minute, and had a sudden vision of a frosting covered kiss. She hoped that Misaki and Akihiko didn't hurry back too quickly.

"Okay." She took Takahiro's hand and led him giggling into the kitchen.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	12. Lost Digits I

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twelve: Lost Digits I**

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><p>On his way "home" Nowaki had stopped, en route, at the market to pick up a few things he'd noticed they needed. The bag with his purchases swung loosely from his hand as wended his way amongst the crowds on the sidewalk.<p>

He drifted amongst the throngs lost in dreamy contentment. Though she made it clear she didn't really need him "tagging along," after the "almost accident," Hiro-san had allowed him to accompany her to the closest train station so she could speed her journey home.

Nowaki grinned.

_ Well, at least she pretended not to be happy about it._

But he could tell that, in a way, she had actually been pleased.

Upon parting, they had agreed that he would call her later that evening to set up a time to get together and start studying. Nowaki reached into the pocket of his jeans and, for about the tenth time since he left Hiroki, once again pulled out the small piece of paper she had given him to make sure it was still there.

He still couldn't believe his good fortune. _Hiro-san actually gave me her number._

He hadn't offered her his, because, well, for one he didn't have a cell phone. Such an expensive item was a luxury Nowaki currently could not afford. There was a land line at the apartment he shared with his roommates, but Nowaki was pretty sure if he had given Hiroki his number, she would have never called it anyways.

She didn't strike him as the pursuant type.

Hiroki's natural reticence was perhaps one of the reasons Nowaki decided that he liked her so quickly: good things had never come simply into his life.

But what had really drawn him to Hiroki was the moment he'd first laid eyes on her and seen her tear-filled eyes. Despite his almost ever-cheerful countenance, Nowaki was no stranger to sadness, but Hiroki's anguish had touched him deeply.

_No one so lovely should ever have to feel that much pain._ Nowaki thought.

If only I could make Hiro-san smile, really smile… _Now that would be something!_

Still, he hadn't wanted to take the chance she might call. Not that he was fearful of the teasing from his roommates that would surely follow such a call, but a few of the boys he lived with right now were quite rough and he worried that they might offend her.

Plus, although it might seem a bit old-fashioned, he wanted to be the one to phone her first.

A new smile took over Nowaki's features as he poured over every moment he'd spent with they had spent actually little more than an hour together, Nowaki already loved his irascible maiden.

Walking to the train station, he had asked her what she intended to do after graduating from the academy. She'd told him she wanted to be a professor of literature. Nowaki had no doubt that Hiroki would do it.

_She is such an amazing person already, after all._

When he'd told her this in almost those same words, she had blushed and smiled just slightly. There was still a residual trace of irritation in her expression, but even so, Nowaki couldn't recall the last time he'd seen anything so beautiful. It just reenforced his new goal to do whatever it took to keep Hiro-san smiling all the time.

An uneasy sensation gripped his low belly. He worried whether or not he was worthy of someone so splendid. There was also the fact that he was slightly younger and it was obvious if Hiro-san was attending "N" Academy… then socially and economically, they were clearly on far different levels.

Nowaki frowned, considering this.

_Well, I am just going to have to work harder and make something of myself! This way I'll prove to Hiro-san that I am worthy to be by her side._

After returning Hiroki's number to one pocket, Nowaki reached into his other for Tsumori's number. He'd definitely call him tomorrow and see about that job at the hospital the intern had mentioned. He was sure it would be a very menial position but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be good opportunities to learn.

The more that the lanky teen thought about it, the more appealing the idea of a career in medicine became.

_A doctor and a professor, now that would certainly be a respectable match._

These thoughts carried Nowaki the rest of his way home and he was smiling again as he opened the door to his apartment.

Once in the entryway he stopped for a moment and, without even thinking, hung up the coats and bags of the other boys' that had been discarded in the hallway. Nowaki then took off his shoes and lined all the others up in an organized row alongside them.

He could tell by the pairs present that Naoki and Yuu, his two oldest roommates were out. Naoki, who had just turned twenty-one, worked in a bar most evenings and Yuu, nineteen, took vocational classes at night after his work at a music store.

Nowaki's other three roommates, Eiji and Kazu, seventeen year-old twins, and Yukio, eighteen, were lazing around the front room playing the new x-box that Yukio had been given by an older woman he had just started seeing recently.

"Hey! Mama's home!" Eiji cried using the nickname they had given Nowaki not long after he moved in. The skinny teen excitedly jumped up, abandoning his console to move over to the kitchen where Nowaki was putting away the groceries he'd just bought.

"Dumb-ass" Yukio yelled. "You can't just leave the game like that! It fucks everything up!"

"I'm totally killing your guy while you're gone, Eiji!" Kazu chimed in.

"Like I care." Eiji snorted as he began rifling through the bag Nowaki had brought in. "Yeech, Mama! All this crap you brought home is healthy!" Eiji complained. He rubbed his belly, sucking it in to make it even more concave than it was naturally. "And I'm starving."

Nowaki looked over at the two boys still sitting on the apartment's broken-down sofa. "Kazu, I thought you were supposed to cook tonight."

"Yeah, but I knew you were coming home so, I didn't. Why are you so late?" Kazu frowned at Nowaki as though he was the one who had fallen down on the job, not him.

"It was activity day with the orphans," Nowaki said simply as he started the rice cooker and then began washing some of the vegetables he'd bought. "Did you guys remember to bring in the sheets?"

"When I was walking home, it looked like it might start raining soon."

The initial silence from the trio gave him his answer.

"We're right in the middle of a game!" Yukio glowered at his responsible roommate.

"I have to be at my next job in an hour." Nowaki's tone was completely unruffled: he'd dealt with difficult children his whole life, so Yukio's antics rarely riled him. "I don't have time to take in the laundry and cook dinner both right now."

"I told the guys I'd order take out," Yukio, grumbled, his eyes back on the TV screen.

"You should be saving your money, Yukio. I am sure the people who give it to would like to see it used wisely." Though he never said anything against him, Nowaki didn't really approve of the other boy's hustling.

"Besides," Eiji piped in, "Nowaki's cooking is way better than take out!"

Yukio shot a hostile glare at Eiji. He didn't like the fact that all the other boys in the house looked up to Nowaki, especially since Nowaki was youngest one there.

"Eiji, if you chop the vegetable's, I'll get the laundry,"

"Okay, Mama!" Eiji happily picked up the knife Nowaki had laid out on the counter and set to work.

"Suck up!" Yukio growled as soon as Nowaki had moved out on the apartment's small balcony with the laundry basket and had slid the glass door closed behind him.

"Fuck off, Yukio!"

Eiji, though he would never have let the other boys know this, liked it when Nowaki was there. It was the only time the apartment ever really felt like a home.

Out on the balcony Nowaki took down and folded the sheets he'd hung out to dry when he'd stopped home in between jobs that afternoon. With six young men in the apartment, trying to keep all the beds in clean linens was a never-ending task.

Nowaki looking out into the lights of the city, Nowaki sighed.

Tonight he worked eight to eleven washing dishes at a nearby café, then he had his paper routes too soon after from three a.m. to seven. He cleaned cages and fed animals at a local pet store from eight to ten every day and after bussed tables at another restaurant during their lunchtime rush. Then there was an older couple who had a small shop where he worked some afternoons, running errands, moving and unpacking deliveries. On the weekends he assisted at a florist's shop.

It was a lot of work and lately, to be honest, he had begun feeling a bit discouraged about his hectic schedule and where his life was going…

_But not anymore._

Now all of these things had a purpose, and that purpose was a pretty brunette with huge hazel eyes named Hiroki.

* * *

><p>A short time later, Karu and Eiji were in their room getting ready to go out with some friends leaving Nowaki alone in the main part of the apartment with Yukio. Nowaki was cleaning up the kitchen from his dinner preparation while Yukio sulked. The woman the handsome eighteen year-old was supposed to go out with, had called and said her husband had come home early from his business trip so she wouldn't be able to take him out that night.<p>

Nowaki had just filled the sink and set the dishes from dinner in to soak. He would wash them later when he got home after work if he had the energy. Otherwise, they would likely still be waiting for him when he had his next break in schedule.

Standing over the sink, he pulled out Hiroki's number once more. There was a payphone on the way to the diner and, now that Yukio wasn't going out, despite the cost, Nowaki figured he would call her from there.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear Yukio slip up behind him.

"What's this?" the older boy asked, snatching the scrap with Hiroki's number on it out of Nowaki's fingers before he even knew what was happening.

"Give it back please, Yukio," Nowaki's tone was low and serious.

Yukio delighted in this development. In the months that they'd lived together, despite all his goading he had never once managed to get a rise out of the tall teen. But this piece of paper…

Seeing Nowaki's response, obviously there was something here and he was not going to let this opportunity go to waste.

"What have we here, Kusama?" Yukio teased. "A number? I didn't know that monks were allowed to date."

Then he saw Hiroki's name in her less-than frilly, furious scrawl. His carefully manicured brows rose. "What's this? Hiroki?"

Yukio's face grew dark. "I always figured you played for the other team, Kusama. Wait until I tell the other guys they're living with a homo!"

"Not that it matters, but why would you think that, Yukio?" There was a dangerous glint in Nowaki's blue eyes, but his voice was surprisingly even.

Yukio sneered."What? Are you kidding me?"

"You wouldn't double with me when I asked you to help me out with that client's friend the other day. Besides, you're nice, you clean, you cook… And _Hiroki_ is a _boy's_ name."

The anger in Nowaki's gaze dimmed and he shook his head sadly. "You're so short-sighted."

"Tell the other boy's." he shrugged. "I don't care, but just so you know, Hiroki happens to be a lady. Now please give me back her number."

"Or what?" Yukio challenged.

The older boy paled as he witnessed the shift in Nowaki. The embers of Nowaki's anger had been fanned again and in an instant the fire in his eyes was raging at an even higher pitch than before. Or maybe "fire" wasn't the right metaphor here: it was more like a storm building and Yukio saw the typhoon swirling in Nowaki's dark blue eyes.

Nowaki didn't even have to say anything.

"Fine, take it ,you big poof!" The hustler crumpled it up and threw it at Nowaki as he fled the room. A few seconds later, Nowaki heard the front door slam.

Usually Nowaki's reflexes were pretty good, but somehow he missed this time and the small ball of paper ended up in the dishwater.

"Shit!" Nowaki let out an uncharacteristic curse and grabbed the wadded scrap from where it floated in the sink. He quickly pulled out, but it was too late. The paper was thin and the water had immediately wicked up into it. The smeared numbers were now illegible.

One would think as often as he'd looked at it, he would have memorized the number already, but the funny thing was all the times he'd glanced at it, Nowaki rarely got farther than Hiroki's name. Just seeing it sent a series of mental images of Hiro-san spinning through his mind so boggling, he really hadn't ever absorbed the numbers themselves.

As he frantically tried to recall the digits and their order, the more desperate Nowaki became and the more mixed up they got. Looking down at the cheap watch on his wrist, he saw he was going to be late for work if he didn't leave soon.

Nowaki smoothed out the damp paper. Even though it was ruined, because of what it had once contained, he couldn't bear to part with it .

Nowaki went to put his shoes on. As he slipped into his thin jacket readying to leave, he wondered what he was going to do now.

Hiro-san didn't seem like the type of girl to give second chances.

* * *

><p>Hiroki lay on her bed doing her homework. For the hundredth time that evening, she checked her phone to make sure that it was on. She'd been waiting all night for that tall idiot to call her.<p>

Finally, an hour later, in a fit of frustration she shoved all of her books and papers off her bed and on to the floor.

She fumed thinking about about Nowaki's goofy smile and his kind, blue eyes.

_You stupid sap,_ she silently raged. _I can't believe you let yourself be so easily swayed, especially so soon after what happened with Aki._

Hiroki scowled: Akihiko hadn't called either. Not that she expected him to and not that she would have answered it if he had. But part of her still thought he should have at least had the decency to try and reach her.

_Well I guarantee you, it won't happen again!_ _Ever!_ she promised herself.

Hiroki pulled her pillow up over her head to cover her ever-increasingly furrowed forehead. Her initial assessment on the bench today in the park had been right after all.

"Dumb-ass boys…" She growled into the thick down covering her frustrated blush.

"Who needs them?"

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	13. Tears and Raindrops

**A little warning for the diehard fans of the Romantica couple: this AU Misaki is a bit more bold. Sorry, but I need to write him this way to like him… Besides, he's a little more comfortable in his relationship with Usagi here, since in this fiction there's only three years, not ten between them.**

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><p><strong>Teen Hiroki <strong>

**Chapter Thirteen: Tears and Raindrops**

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><p>Akihiko's mind was reeling. He was so stunned by the events that had just occurred in the Takahashi apartment, he hadn't even bothered to protest when Misaki grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. In fact, he'd been silently following the younger boy now for several blocks.<p>

He was glad to be out in the open chill of the autumn air. In the warmth of Misaki and Takahiro's home, when Takahiro had made his announcement, everything had suddenly seemed so close, he could barely breathe.

Now, however, all he could think about was how foolish he'd been, hoping things could ever really go back to how they had been prior to that afternoon in the clearing; that there might still be a chance that he could redeem himself; or somehow he could change Takahiro's mind and get him to have any feelings other than friendship.

On top of this Akihiko was also struggling with the fact Takahiro had been apparently seriously liked someone and had never said anything to him about it.

_More than likely, that stupid girl expressed an interest in him at some point. She certainly seems brash enough. _

_And after what happened in the woods, Hiro must have felt compelled to prove wasn't gay._

_So what does the idiot do? He runs to the first girl who's flirted with him and confesses._

Thinking about confessions, under his breath Akihiko cursed Hiroki and her stupid ideas. It would have been better not to have said anything at all. Then he could have continued to stay by Takahiro's side, comfortably uncomfortable in his silent affection, and there would now be no meddling girlfriend.

_On top of this,_ _I could have avoided that whole embarrassing scene with Hiroki as well._

Underneath his anger and indignation, Akihiko was smart enough to know that the internal rant he was currently engaged in was really nothing more than a cover, a thin veil separating him from what he did not wish to acknowledge. He had been waiting his whole life to find someone he loved and who would love him back, and, once again, this had eluded him.

After all of the practiced distance he'd had to affect to stay sane in his family; after all the chilled indifference he'd cultivated to survive the constant rejection and hostility he felt from his parents and Haruhiko; opening himself up to feeling something for someone else and having that rebuffed, yet again, however kindly, crushed him.

He felt incredibly, desperately, empty.

Akihiko was so lost in his thoughts it took him a moment to realize that Misaki had finally stopped moving and had let go of his hand. Blinking, as if emerging from a fugue, he realized that Misaki had pulled him to a local park.

In this neighborhood at this time of the evening, only the very brave or the very foolish would venture to come here. Akihiko smiled through his pain as he put Misaki into the category of the latter.

The younger boy had led them out onto an empty basketball court illuminated by the single halogen that had not yet been knocked out by vandals. In its yellow cast, the scene had a dream-like quality.

Looking away from the light, it took Akihiko a moment to locate Misaki, but then he saw him. The boy had his back to him. He was leaning against the pole of one of the backboards, bracing himself by one outstretched arm, his head hanging low.

Akihiko approached, moving over casually. He was careful to make sure that he did not seem upset. There was no need for him to bring his sorrows into Misaki's world; the poor kid had more than enough of his own to deal with, given his recent loss.

Slowing as he neared him, Akihiko saw Misaki's narrow shoulders were shaking.

_Is he crying?_

Drawing up alongside, he and saw he was correct: Misaki's normally sweet face was contorted with pain.

"I'm sorry, Usagi-san." Misaki sobbed.

Akihiko couldn't figure out what he had to be sorry for.

_Is he apologizing for crying in front of me?_

Waiting to see if he would explain himself, Akihiko just stood there silently. Finally, when Misaki's crying showed no signs of abating, he asked, "What are you crying for?"

Misaki gasped, "I can't believe he did that!"

Tears overflowed his huge green eyes, falling to the pavement below and staining the faded asphalt. Their marks joined the few other spots suddenly appearing alongside them as the first drops of an autumn rain began to lightly fall.

"How could he be so cruel?… Bringing her home like that! Introducing her like it's no big deal?"

Akihiko suddenly understood what had caused Misaki's outburst: Takahiro was all he had in the world now that his parents were gone.

_Of course it would be threatening to him to have his brother bring someone else home._ In fact, Akihiko had felt a similar energy from Misaki the first time the younger Takahashi had seen him with his brother too.

"Misaki," Akihiko soothed. "I'm sure everything will be okay. No girl is ever going to replace you for your brother. Takahiro cares about you too much."

Instead of calming him, these words just seemed to further agitate Misaki.

"I know that!

"I mean, how could he be so cruel to you? Telling _you_ he wanted you to be one of the first ones to know… After you've liked him for so long!"

Misaki was crying so hard he could hardly draw a breath. "I've seen how you look at him Usagi…

"I just can't understand how my brother can be so stupid? This is the first time in my life that I've ever really wanted to hit him!"

Though his face didn't show it, Akihiko was stunned. He couldn't believe how perceptive the younger boy was to have understood the depths of what he'd felt. It also made him uncomfortable to see Misaki so angry with Takahiro.

"Misaki, it's not very manly for you to be crying like that." he admonished, hoping to make the boy stop weeping.

"I mean look at you… Your face is a mess!" As soon as these words left his mouth, Akihiko realized that he'd just sounded exactly like his father.

"Shut up, dumb-ass!" Misaki yelled. "Saying things like that when I'm crying for you, Usagi…

"You big jerk!"

Akihiko was taken aback by this furious attack and profoundly touched, especially given everything Misaki had been through.

"Misaki…"

He gently took the younger boy by the shoulders and turned him around to face him.

Keeping his head down, Misaki covered his eyes behind a bent arm. "You have no idea how embarrassing this is anyway, Usagi-san… Because once I start crying like this I can't stop!"

Misaki choked on the words as he uttered them. He was humiliated to be seen like this after Akihiko's rebuke, especially since he liked him so much.

"Misaki," Akihiko said softly again.

A large cool hand gripped Misaki's arm pulling it away from his face. Akihiko took the younger boy's chin in his hand and tipped it up. At that moment, despite all the damage done to Misaki's normally cute countenance by his tears, Akihiko thought he'd never seen a more beautiful face.

He realized how blind he had been himself, lavishing his love on Takahiro when there was such a pure heart standing so close by: Misaki was willing to weep for his broken heart, even after his own life had been so irrevocably shattered.

After the lesson he'd learned that afternoon with Takahiro at the enclosure, Akihiko was careful to temper the passion he felt welling up inside him this time. He leaned down and gently kissed Misaki on the forehead.

The crying stopped.

Misaki wiped his face on the sleeve of his jacket. He looked up at Akihiko, his green eyes studying him wonderingly.

"What was that?" he sniffled, meeting the tender lavender gaze.

"That was a kiss," Akihiko offered, much more lightly than he felt. He smiled despite how surprisingly nervous he suddenly was."It got you to stop crying didn't it?'

"You call that a kiss, Usagi-san?" Misaki's brilliant green eyes glittered, still dewy from the tears he'd shed only moments ago.

Akihiko's eyes widened as the smaller boy grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him down unexpectedly, capturing his mouth.

He started to pull back, but then thought the better of it, responding to Misaki's foray, gently first with lips and then more fiercely with tongue, quickly conquering the boy.

Or was it really a conquest? Because Misaki didn't really fight at all, instead he allowed Akihiko to dominate him.

When Akihiko finally pulled back, Misaki was almost breathless. The two stood there silently regarding each other. Nothing was said, but still eloquent confessions were made and understood by both.

The moon had come out and its pale light joined the flickering bulb overhead. Akihiko wrapped his long arms around Misaki pulling him close. He leaned down enough to rest his pale head over the smaller teen's shoulder.

"Just let me stay like this for a bit. Okay, Misaki?" His low, smoky voice still carried a note of sorrow.

Hesitantly now, suddenly embarrassed by how bold he'd been, Misaki embraced back. Ever selfless, he whispered, "You know I don't expect you to get over him just like that.

"You can still cry if you want, Usagi-san."

Akihiko reached up and ruffled Misaki's dark head.

"Shut up, Brat. You should know better than to say such things to your elders! I'll have you know that other than the day I was born, I have never cried in front of anyone."

Despite his words, Misaki could hear the emotion weighting the older boy's voice. Clasping Akhiko tighter himself, Misaki whispered.

"Maybe I could be the exception, Usagi."

A moment later, he felt the broad shoulders above him begin to silently shake.

Beneath the spotlight of the moon, the sky suddenly opened up and a heavy rain began to fall, the drops offering cover for Akihiko's tears.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for Reading.<strong>


	14. Lost Digits II

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Fourteen: Lost Digits II**

* * *

><p>An uncharacteristic frown occupied Nowaki's handsome face as he headed into the Panda-san café's back-alley was still angry at Yukio.<p>

He knew that the older teen had endured a hard life and that the pretty boy had been badly abused as a child, so he had often overlooked the other boy's behavior because of this and tried to be understanding.

_But tonight…_

Nowaki's parents had left him with almost nothing at the start of his life. And at the orphanage, as the years progressed, being the oldest one there, combined with his already generous nature, he'd found himself constantly giving away almost everything he ever acquired to his younger "siblings" for one reason or another.

In fact, other than his clothes, the only thing Nowaki had to take with him from the orphanage when he'd left, was a picture of his foster parents, the Kusamas, who ran the facility, a few other photos of himself as a child, and a small stuffed dog named Kaze.

Nowaki currently kept Kaze hidden in a box under his bed. The plush pup had been in the basket with him on the night he was discovered on the front steps of the orphanage. Once black with blue button eyes, now, most of Kaze's fur was gone, rubbed off by years of petting, and one eye had long-ago been lost.

All this to say, there few things in his life that Nowaki could hold as "special," but that small slip with Hiroki's number on it had been one of these and Yukio had destroyed it.

After losing Hiroki's number, Nowaki had been beside himself, trying several venues to see if he couldn't obtain a contact only to find that, apparently, the Kamijou household was unlisted.

He knew what school she went to, but it wouldn't do to just show up at the academy tomorrow to explain why he hadn't called. For one, he didn't know Hiroki's routine and it sounded as though she was engaged in a lot of after school activities. Besides, he had work scheduled straight through from the time he started cleaning cages at the pet shop in the morning until almost seven o'clock at night.

Nowaki reverently touched his pocket where he'd put the sodden scrap.

_Well, I'm not giving up! I'm going to find some way to fix this!_

Entering the back of the restaurant, he hung up his coat in the small staff room. Pulling on an only slightly tarnished smile with his apron, Nowaki punched his card in the time clock, and started his shift.

* * *

><p>The cook had shown up drunk that evening and had been sent home to sleep it off by the Panda-san's owner, Sasaki-san. As a result, with his culinary skills, instead of busing tables Nowaki had been roped into cooking instead. This had happened a few times now, but Nowaki didn't mind: Sasaki-san always paid him a bit more when he cooked.<p>

Business had been brisk and it was twenty minutes past the time his mid-shift break was supposed to have started when someone came into the kitchen to tell Nowaki he had a visitor out front.

He was still feeling pensive when he walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on the his now-stained apron. All through the evening, while slicing and frying, he had been turning the issue of how to reach Hiroki over and over in his mind with no satisfactory result.

Nowaki's mood brightened, however, when he saw Sato-san, owner of the pervert mustache from park and CEO of SATO-Corp., sitting on one of the humble stools at the bar.

Sato was a man of infinite energies who rarely slept. Occasionally he stopped by the café at night as a break in one of his sixteen-hour days to chat with Nowaki. The CEO had experienced a rather compromised start to life himself, and so, maintained a special place in his heart for the extraordinary orphan.

Sato greeted him with a smile."Wa-kun!"

"Hello Sato-san."

"Quite an adventure we had with those children today and that rocket." Sato's eyes glowed: afternoons with the orphans had become one of his most valued "appointments."

Nowaki was always trying to do things that would encourage the other children to dream. He knew only to well how hard it was to hold on to something so fragile in a place that, despite Mama and Papa Kusamas' best efforts, was still undeniably harsh.

"Well, Ri-chan had told me he wanted to be an astronaut, so I thought he might enjoy it."

"Ahh, well! I think they all did!… And speaking of what one plans to be when he 'grows up'… Though how much more 'up' you can get at this point, Wa-kun, one can hardly imagine…"

Sato always liked teasing Nowaki about his already imposing height.

"Have you given any more thought to my offer?"

He'd recently been trying to entice Nowaki to intern at his company. So far Nowaki refused, saying that he didn't want it to appear he'd been trying to benefit from the outings he'd arranged for the other orphans.

"I have, Sato-san," Nowaki said carefully, not wishing to offend the man. "And while I want to thank you so much for your offer, I think I am going to focus on getting into college instead."

"Oh?" Sato looked pleasantly surprised. He'd sensed Nowaki had been struggling lately and had been worried that, in his difficulties, the boy might give up and lose some of the drive that made him so remarkable.

"I want to go into medicine and become a doctor."

"That's admirable, Wa-kun, but to become a doctor is a lot of hard work. It takes an incredibly long time to achieve."

Nowaki replied sounding very determined."I know, Sato-san, but I believe I can do it!"

The CEO started cautiously,"You know Wa-kun…" He had been down this road before with the poor but proud boy standing before him. "The other three directors and I would still be willing to give you a 'scholarship' to help you undertake your studies."

"Thank you Sato-san…" Nowaki's expression turned solemn. "I think… I might take you up on that after all."

Seeing the man's smile immediately broaden, Nowaki amended his previous words quickly. "But I still I don't feel comfortable taking your money… So, perhaps, I could accept a loan instead?

"I promise I would pay you all back… With interest, of course!"

"Of course, Kusama-san," Sato changed to this formal address to indicate his respect for the youth's adult sensibilities.

"I think we might be able to work something out." The CEO was beaming. "But may I ask why this sudden change of heart?

"We've been trying to get you to accept an offer from us for some time now." The older man adjusted his smile and suddenly his mustachioed-countenance seemed less pervy and more impish.

"Say… This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain pretty, if not slightly-strange, girl that you were bombarding with rockets earlier today. Would it?

Nowaki couldn't help but smile again at the mention of Hiro-san.

"Ah, Wa-kun watch out," Sato warned. "If little Miss Kamijou is anything like her father, you'll have your hand's full. That President Kamijou is a tough one."

"You know Hiro-san's father?" Nowaki's blue eyes suddenly sparked with hope.

"Hiro-san?"

Sato laughed at Nowaki's choice of address for the small but formidable female. "Ah, well, yes. Hiromasa Kamijou, is the president of Kamijou Corps. The young lady said he was her father."

Nowaki prayed that the gods might at last find him favorable. "Would you know how I could reach her?"

He unconsciously patted the pocket where Hiroki's ruined number rested. "She gave me her cell number but I, um, lost it. I tried to find a home number but I guess it is unlisted."

Sato tilted his head at Nowaki's question. The boy's blue eyes held a particular expression and it was obvious to him that the poor teen was completely smitten.

Who was he to try and stand in the path of love? Sato pulled out his cell phone.

"Ah, Wa-kun, I know where the family's estate is. Let me see here if I can't find an address. I can use my GPS then to give you directions."

"Estate?" Nowaki's face paled.

Sato winked at him to ease his distress."No worries, Wa-kun. Just be yourself and you will do fine." Being in the business world the CEO dealt in duplicity every day, but, when he said this to Nowaki, he truly meant it.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	15. Wake Up

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Fifteen: Wake Up**

* * *

><p>Hiroki blinked and slowly opened her eyes.<p>

She should have been able to see the soft light of the early autumn morning seeping in through her windows, but her vision was blocked by a far too happy face smiling down on her.

"Gaaaahhh!"

Hiroki raised her pillow to cover her eyes against this overwhelming brightness. "Mother! What in the heck are you doing?

"Were you watching me sleep again? Do you even know how creepy that is?"

The first blush of the day rose like the dawn on Hiroki's cheeks.

"Oh, Hiroki-chan," Her mother chided as she pulled the pillow away and set it off to the side. "You should meet the day with a smile, not a shout.

"Look at you! Your forehead is already furrowed.

"Perhaps I should call your grandma."

Hiroki growled and flapped her hands, trying to shoo her mother away as she went to get up.

"I'm _not_ getting Botox, Mother! It's ridiculous and superficial."

She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and self-consciously touched her fingers to her forehead.

Lady Kamijou ignored her daughter's ire."That's why I like to watch you when you're sleeping. You look so peaceful, Hiroki-chan.

"Besides," she continued, pulling out a clean school uniform and laying it out on the end of Hiroki's bed, "I already tried to wake you six times, Sleepy Head."

Then she looked at Hiroki with an expression that held considerable more shadow and dropped her voice. "Also, there's some strange boy waiting for you out on our front steps…

"Well, I mean, I think he's waiting for you. He said he was looking for 'Hiro-san.'"

"What?" Hiroki gasped.

Looking at the clock on the nightstand next to her bed, she saw it was just past seven thirty.

_What in the heck is that idiot doing here at this time of the morning? Especially after standing me up on his promised phone call last night!_

"He seemed quite adamant about staying until he had the chance to speak with you."

Hiroki's mother raised her manicured brows, eying her daughter suspiciously. "Where on earth did you meet such a… uh, _tall_… looking boy?" Hiroki was quite sure her mother inserted "tall" where she meant to say "poor".

"At the park yesterday," Hiroki answered before thinking. Realizing her mistake as soon as she'd said it, she quickly amended. "As I was walking home from the library downtown."

"Oh, Hiroki-chan, I don't think I approve of you talking to strangers at the park!" After all, Lady Kamijou was a very traditional woman who even-still wore a kimono about ninety-five percent of the time.

But Hiroki knew her mother would discourage her from the company of most boys anyway for another reason too: she wanted her to marry Akihiko. She'd caught her mother a few weeks back, doodling while on the phone with one of her society friends writing "Usami Hiroki" over and over on her message pad like some silly school girl.

_Good luck with that plan now, Mama… He doesn't even like girls!_

Hiroki blushed again and realized her hours of sleep had unfortunately done nothing to diminish her recall of the humiliating events from the previous day with Akihiko.

Hopping out of bed, she crossed over the room to the panda pack resting atop her desk. She unzipped the pocket that was the panda's mouth and took something out.

"Nowaki was at the park with some of his friends, it was all very proper."

"Oh, my, Hiroki-chan… That's even worse! You being alone, talking to a group of random boys."

"Here, Mother." Hiroki placed the cards that the business men had pressed on her the day before into the concerned woman's hand. "His friends asked me to give these to father for them.

"Would you mind passing them on? I might forget."

Hiroki watched her mother's expression change rapidly the moment she read the names on the cards.

"What are you dawdling about for, Miss?" Lady Kamijou suddenly scolded. "Get some clothes on and go invite the boy in for breakfast! Where are your manners? Don't you know it's impolite to keep a guest waiting?"

"Right Mother." Hiroki sighed and rolled her eyes. She grabbed her uniform and headed to the bathroom so she could get dressed without an audience.

"Uh, Mama, will you please tell Nowaki I'll be down in a minute?"

"Certainly," Her mother was now delighted to have an opening provided so that she could interrogate this suddenly "interesting" young man calling upon her daughter.

"Oh, and Hiroki-chan, Love, please try and do something with your hair before you come down," Lady Kamijou encouraged. "And it might be nice too if you put a little makeup on, Dear. Not that you need any blush... But maybe just a little something to bring out your beautiful eyes…"

"Oh for Pete's sake!" Hiroki darted into the bathroom, and slammed the door before she was offered any more motherly advice.

* * *

><p>A short time later, Hiroki was on her way to the front door when she suddenly heard animated voices and her mother's laugh coming from the kitchen.<p>

"Oh, Kusama-kun what a funny story," Lady Kamijou tittered.

_Oh, gods no!_ Hiroki thought.

Her worst fears were confirmed, however, when she walked in.

She and her mother rarely dined formally when her father was gone, which was often, so, on their common kitchen table, a beautiful traditional breakfast had been laid out.

Sitting at the table was Nowaki.

He had obviously been using his charm on her mother, as Lady Kamijou was giggling like a teenager (well, like a teenager who was not Hiroki) and fluttering delightedly about.

Delightedly, that is, until she saw her only daughter, who had apparently decided not to follow any of her advice.

Hiroki entered the kitchen. She'd donned her school uniform, but no makeup and had left her wild, auburn hair purposefully amok.

While Lady Kamijou's smile never faltered, greeting her daughter for the second time that day, a small tic appeared in one of her eyebrows.

Hiroki noticed this and was secretly pleased.

"Nowaki, what in the heck are you doing here?"

Mortified by her daughter's rudeness, Lady Kamijou's eyes widened considerably. "Hiroki-chan, my heavens! Where are your manners?

"I invited Kusama-san to breakfast with us. I couldn't just leave him out in the cold while you were putting yourself together."

Lady Kamijou put special emphasis on the end of her statement. It was the closest she could come to sarcasm. Nowaki, however, was completely unaffected by either Hiroki's tone or her words. Instead, he broke into a dreamy smile the moment he laid eyes on her.

"Oh, that's quite all right, Kamijou-san. I'm unexpected and Hiro-san has every right to be cross with me."

Hiroki sat down at the table ignoring her mother's reprimand.

"Well?" she demanded of the boy now sitting across from her.

_Where in the hell does he get off, looking so handsome and acting so pleasant at this ungodly hour of the morning?_ Hiroki never even felt like herself until at least noon.

At this point, Hiroki's mother excused herself on note of needing to get something else for the table and retreated to pantry. Hiroki knew that, as tradition dictated, she would not dine with them anyways. Besides, Hiroki also knew it was much easier to eavesdrop from the pantry, which was undoubtedly her mother's plan.

Now "alone," after she and Nowaki uttered their quick blessing, Hiroki began dishing up her bowl. As she did this, she considered Nowaki, her countenance fierce.

She blushed as she ate her rice: Nowaki was studying her just as intently, only his expression was anxious, as though he was waiting for her to say something.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Until finally, unable to wait any more, Nowaki said in a rush, "Hiro-san, I'm so sorry!"His blue eyes looked just short of panicked as he tried to explain.

"I had every intention of calling you last night, but then I lost your phone number, and I didn't know how to get a hold of you, and your family's number isn't listed."

"You lost my number?"

Hiroki eyed Nowaki skeptically, although she had to be careful not to look too long, since it made something in her stomach flutter.

Hoping to make Nowaki as off balance as she felt, she snorted. "That doesn't sound very responsible.

"You want me to tutor you still, Nowaki? Well, if I'm going to take time out of my busy schedule to do this, I need to know that you'll be reliable."

"And I'm not even sure anymore I should do this. Why don't you get someone else to help you?"

Nowaki's eyes widened. "But I want you!"

"But why? Why is it so important that I'm your tutor?" Hiroki asked.

"Why indeed, Hiro-san?"

Nowaki said this softly, looking directly into her eyes while his own burned with an intensity that made Hiroki tremble. She dropped her gaze, embarrassed by the openness of his expression.

"That's what I'm asking you, You Dork! Don't answer my question with a question!"

Pulling a tattered scrap from his pocket, Nowaki passed it across the table. "Honestly, Hiro-san, one of my roommates took the paper you gave me with your information on it. He only wanted to tease me, but he ruined it so that I couldn't read the numbers."

Hiroki saw the blurred lines where name and numbers had once been and was hard pressed to maintain her scowl. That Nowaki had kept the paper to show her moved something in her heart. Seeing that she might be softening just a little, Nowaki pressed forward.

"Sato-san, who you met at the park yesterday… He came into the restaurant where I work last night.

"He told me he knew your father and helped me get your address. I had to tell the pet store where I work in the mornings that I would be late, but I came here as soon as I finished my paper routes, so that I could apologize in person and ask you to forgive me."

"I promise you, Hiro-san, the last thing I would ever want to do is disappoint you." Nowaki's voice was heart-breakingly earnest. "Please be my tutor."

"You're awfully bold, aren't you?" From beneath the cover of her long lashes, Hiroki eyed him curiously.

"Do you not like that, Hiro-san?"

Nowaki expression held a vulnerability that both moved and dismayed Hiroki. Gazing down at her bowl, she took another bite of rice. Thinking of Akihiko's constant emotional inaccessibility, after she swallowed she said softly,"No. I'm just not used to it."

"Do you think you could get used to it?"

_Do I think I can get used to a handsome boy who says what he thinks and wants to hang out with me even after I am so stern? _

Hiroki sighed. "Okay Nowaki, when do you want to meet? I have things after school until six."

From the pantry, she thought she heard her mother release a deep breath.

Nowaki too, exhaled in relief.

"I have work until seven. Maybe we could meet at the train and go to the library downtown? I would of course see you home after, so you wouldn't have to travel by yourself at night."

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself there!" Hiroki warned. "And I am plenty able to take care of myself!"

Nowaki just beamed at her happily in response.

_What a weirdo,_ Hiroki thought, but really, she was rather pleased. She felt her cheeks redden, discomfited by her own delight.

"I expect you to work really hard, Nowaki!" Hiroki growled hoping to "fierce" away her troubling feelings.

Her happy unease only increased when Nowaki emitted a cheerful, "Yes Ma'am!" in response.

After that, the silence between them resumed and they returned to eating. Then Nowaki looked up and grinned.

"What?" Hiroki was startled to find yet another new smile on the dark-haired boy's face.

"Hold still, Hiro-san."

Leaning over, Nowaki gently plucked a single grain of rice that had gotten lost on its journey to Hiroki's mouth and had stuck just below one corner of her lower lip.

The brush of Nowaki's warm fingers against her skin, made Hiroki's knees go weak

_What is it with this brat and my damn knees?_

Still, she was was incredibly glad she was sitting down, as when he pulled his hand away, one of Nowaki's knuckles gently grazed her lip. At this sensation, liquid warmth flooded her low belly.

Large, hazel eyes grew even bigger, stunned, as Nowaki took the grain into his own sensual mouth and offered her still another new, and this time, slightly intimate smile. It made the transference of the rice-grain between them have all the feeling of a purposeful, indirect kiss.

Hiroki was mortified. "What the hell are you doing, Dumb-ass? You just can't touch a person's face like that without warning them first!"

Fortunately, Lady Kamijou chose that moment to re-enter the room before her antagonized daughter began pelting their guest with food. The Lady was almost dumbstruck, hearing Nowaki respond to this outburst in a warm even voice.

"Hiro -san, you are so cute."

Before Hiroki could launch into further tirade regarding the malignment of being termed "cute," Lady Kamijou intervened.

"Ah, Kusama-kun, I hope that everything is to your liking. I'm sorry that the breakfast is of such a poor quality. If I had known we were having a guest, I would have better prepared." Her voice was apologetic, though this was more for form than truth

Nowaki 's reply, however, was sincere."Kamijou-san, I am the one who should be apologizing, coming by without announcement.

"You've been most gracious in your hospitality to a most unworthy guest. The breakfast was amazing and might I add that the miso was particularly good.

Do you add an extra spice to it?"

Nowaki's formal response was perfect and it thrilled the traditional woman's heart. That Kusama-kun's palate was sensitive enough to recognize that her miso did have its own bit of special flair, also tickled her immensely.

Standing up from the table, Nowaki bowed to Hiroki's mother. "Thank you so much for everything.

"I don't mean to be impolite, but I must go. Otherwise, I'm going to be late for work." He motioned to Hiroki.

"Don't worry about seeing me to the door, Hiro-san. I can find my own way out." There was a bit of hesitance in his tone here, as the Kamijou home was rather palatial. "Please enjoy the rest of your breakfast."

As he left Nowaki called back to Hiroki's mother. "Ah, Kamijou-san, if I ever have the honor of being invited back… Perhaps I can persuade you to share that miso recipe with me?"

"You cook, Kusama-kun?" Hiroki's Mother's expression became incredulous.

"Oh, it's a hobby of mine," Nowaki offered modestly and then turned again to go.

Looking from their departing guest to Hiroki, Lady Kamijou's sharp eye noticed a seemingly out of place expression of softness on her daughter's face as she watched Kusama-kun leaving the room.

Blushing even more furiously than normal, Hiroki pushed up from the table to join him. "Wait Nowaki!"

Hiroki 's voice gentled then and sounded just a little bit shy. "I'll walk with you to the door. It's the least I can do. I mean, especially after you came all this way to apologize."

Hiroki's mother watched stunned as the pair left the room.

As soon as they were gone she rushed to the phone to call her friend Keiko to tell her about the morning's incredible events.

_So the Kusama boy is poor,_ she thought recalling all the jobs that the youth had mentioned in the short time he was there.

Then she also remembered the cards Hiroki had given her of the young man's not insignificant friends. _But if he keeps working so hard, and with such good connections, I'm sure he'll make something of himself._

Her own husband Kamijou Hiromasa, had demonstrated the truth of such things to her.

Lady Kamijou felt a momentary pang regarding her earlier snobbery, suddenly remembering how her beloved "Hiro" had struggled to prove himself to her parents. He too had been a poor boy, courting a girl from a family of means and the last thing Lady Kamijou wanted was to behave as her own mother had.

_Besides, Kusama-kun is charming and… he certainly seems to know how to handle my daughter…_

_If Usami-chan doesn't pan out, there might be hope for my Hiroki yet._

As she started to chatter excitedly with Keiko about her daughter's new "gentleman caller," Hiroki's mother picked up the pen and, on her notepad next to the phone, began to write_ "_Kusama Hiroki" over and over again.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	16. The Long Way

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Sixteen: The Long Way**

* * *

><p>Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Hiroki looked up from her book, <em> Journey of the Summer Panda,<em> to see a middle-aged businessman leering at her from a seat across the aisle. She scowled at him, closed her book, and reached up to adjust the knit beanie she was wearing.

At her scowl, the man's lecherous smile just widened.

Dropping her eyes from his disconcerting grin, Hiroki pretended to read her novel's book jacket. She suddenly wondered if she shouldn't have taken Nowaki up on his offer to pick her up at her home rather than meet him at the station near the library.

All of a sudden a body plopped down in the seat next to her making Hiroki start. Her nose caught the unmistakable smell of sake and she didn't even have to look over to know who it was.

Fortunately, the next stop was hers.

"You're a sweet looking boy," the drunken business man slurred, placing a hand on her jean-clad knee.

Hiroki had changed out of the skirt her mother made her wear and slipped into jeans she'd stashed in her backpack, in the ladies room at the train station near her house. The hooded sweatshirt she'd donned then too, was overlarge hiding her slight curves, though it did have a glittery kitten on the back. (Her mother had a strange penchant for buying her clothes adorned with feline designs.)

She supposed that in this getup, kitten aside, with sweatshirt, cap, skinny jeans, and converse, she might look a bit boyish but still the mis-designation irked her.

"Back off, pervert," Hiroki snapped, not even bothering to address the man's obvious visual impairment. Grabbing her pack and her book, she stood and moved.

Once settled in a new seat she sighed at the failure of her wardrobe on multiple fronts. While it was usually safer for evening train travel, being seen as a boy was certainly not the most tempting attire for a date

_Wait. _ Hiroki corrected herself. _This is a_ "_study date," s__o, not really a date at all._

Besides, this was part of who she was and if Nowaki wanted a girly-girl, he could find one somewhere else.

_Wait._ Hiroki corrected herself again. _Why am I even worried about what Nowaki might want?_

Given her recent new knowledge, Hiroki wondered suddenly if the fact she was sometimes… _Well, okay, most of the time…_ far less than frilly, was part of why she and Akihiko had been able to remain such close friends for as long as they had.

She frowned as she considered this. And, as much as she was loath to see him, she had to admit after what had happened between Akihiko and both her and Takahiro she was worried, especially since Akihiko hadn't come to school that day. Usually, even if suffering from a high fever, he preferred school over dwelling in his family home.

Hiroki pulled her phone out of her pocket.

_Still no calls or texts from him either. Should I call him?_ Her heart was torn between concern and pride.

Hiroki looked up from the display screen of her cellphone just in time to see the pervert business man had stood up and, weaving slightly, was making his way in her direction again.

She was readying her growl when she glanced out the window. Seeing that they were almost at the station, she breathed a sigh of relief. Jumping up, she moved to the door so she could make a quick escape.

Even though the car was relatively empty, her drunken admirer followed, placing himself directly behind her. Hiroki felt the man's groin push up against her denimed backside. While she knew standard practice for most girls was to stand there and pretend nothing was happening, she wasn't most girls.

_Besides, this annoying ass thinks I'm a boy._

As the train pulled into the station, Hiroki brought her elbow forward and then as the train jostled them coming to its halt, she sharply slammed it back. Her elbow connected hard with "Pervert's" ribs and he let out a surprised gasp.

Hiroki darted for the open door, but not without casting a satisfied smirk back. When her molestor's face immediately took on a very angry expression, she realized this hadn't been one of her better ideas.

She bolted out of the train door and onto the platform.

"Hey, punk!" the man shouted, lunging forward to grab her arm. When he realized he'd missed, he quickly moved after her, suddenly seeming far less tipsy.

Frantically scanning the bustling crowds, Hiroki exhaled a grateful sigh of relief when she spotted Nowaki's shaggy, black head towering over the travelers milling around him.

_Thank the gods that goof is so tall._

Hiroki pushed her way through the crowds.

"Nowaki!"

When she finally reached him, Nowaki hadn't immediately recognized her as easily, previously having only seeing her in her skirted form. However, if the way his eyes popped and twinkled like fireworks, when he realized it was her was any indication, he approved of the change in style

The cascading sparks of happiness in the blue eyes flickered and died quickly though when he saw the panic in Hiroki's expression.

Hiroki couldn't help herself; she grabbed his arm and swung around behind Nowaki, just as the irate man rushed up, all but barreling into the tall teen.

The businessman stopped short, his fury dimming considerably as he looked up into this new boy's serious face.

"Is there a problem, Sir?" Nowaki's tone was far from cordial. He pulled Hiroki back around alongside him draping a protective arm over her shoulder.

"Ahhh…"

It was obvious the man was debating whether or not to answer but in the end, his inebriation gave him a false sense of courage.

"Yeah, homo! Your boyfriend assaulted me on the train. The businessman's voice rose as a number of passersby paused to see what the commotion was about. "I should call the authorities!"

Nowaki didn't bother correcting the guy but his temperature in his tone dropped markedly. "And why would Hiroki do that?"

Hiroki was surprised by the threat in Nowaki's usually gentle voice, not knowing that he had experienced his share of groping by pederasts using public transit before his height became imposing enough to keep most predators at bay.

"Uhhh…" Hiroki's pervert noticed for the first time, the growing number of people who'd gathered around, curious about the small drama unfolding before them.

"Perhaps, I am mistaken," The businessman's sake-wine blush was suddenly replaced by something more honest. "Yes… I think it was another boy who hit me. The trains are crowded, you know, and so many of you kids dress alike these days."

The man turned to make a hasty exit, but found himself restrained by a large warm hand around his wrist. Nowaki gripped him tightly with the hand not holding Hiroki.

"If that is the case, Sir, I'm sure you won't mind apologizing to my 'boyfriend.' Right?" Nowaki's normally bright face was cloudy, a storm gathering in his dark-blue eyes.

The businessman began to sputter in protest, but then realized the imposing teen had no intention of letting him go until he did.

Hiroki had wanted to tell Nowaki an apology really wasn't necessary and they should just go but, given his currently fearsome demeanor, even she was a bit hesitant.

"I'm sorry, all right!" the pervert exclaimed at last.

"Properly." The word was growled out.

"What?"

"Apologize to Hiroki properly," Nowaki's volume was low but his voice was just as imposing as his height.

"Ahh, please excuse me." The man winced as the grip on his wrist tightened to an uncomfortable level. "I'm so sorry I got you confused with someone else. You have my deepest apologies."

Though his tone was still not sincere, his words were enough to satisfy Nowaki. He released the man and watched him scurry shamefacedly off.

"Obviously that guy needs glasses… thinking you were a guy." Nowaki shook his shaggy head in disgust. Then he gazed down at Hiroki and his expression softened considerably.

"Are you okay, Hiro-san? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Hiroki was amazed at how immediately Nowaki had transformed back into the sweet puppy-boy she'd first met. The blue eyes scanning hers were filled with a wonderfully earnest concern and she felt her face immediately grow hot at this.

Placing one of her hands on Nowaki's narrow waist, she pushed herself out from under his wing. Hiroki was shocked when the feel of Nowaki's hipbone under her hand sent an almost electric sensation coursing through her. This uncomfortable feeling helped re-fuel her normal irritation.

"I'm fine Nowaki," she grumbled, re-adjusting the straps of her panda pack.

Nowaki apologized anyway. "I'm so sorry, Hiro-san. I should have insisted that I see you here from your home."

"I said I was fine, you big dork!" Hiroki snapped. "I could have handled the situation by myself, you know, without any problem!"

"Of course, Hiro-san," Nowaki agreed, though the twinkle in his eye struck Hiroki as impertinent. "Shall we go?"

As they started walking together, Hiroki looked off to the side. "Ummm, Nowaki…" she stammered, a new blush creeping up into her cheeks.

"Yes, Hiro-san?" Nowaki looked at her expectantly.

Hiroki saw this and pinking even more, glanced quickly away again.

_Why does this idiot have to look at me every time I speak as though I'm going to offer him the world's next great revelation? It's so embarrassing._

"Thank you."

Nowaki smiled in response to Hiroki's mumbled gratitude.

"So, you actually hit him?" he asked a minute later as they climbed up out of the station.

"Elbow to the ribs… Reeeeally hard." A bit of pride crept into Hiroki's voice.

Nowaki chuckled. "Remind me to be careful then!"

At the sound of his laughter, streamers of pleasure unfurled in Hiroki's chest.

"Don't worry, I will!" she growled, though her happiness softened the sharp edges of this promise.

Nowaki cleared his throat then and his voice took on an unusual hesitance.

"Ummm, Hirosan…"

"What?"

"Do you mind if we walk this way?"

"Okay." Hiroki was agreeable but she was also puzzled by the choice of route. She'd made enough trips to the Library to know that this was the longest way there.

They walked together for a time in comfortable silence. Hiroki was pleased with this, since she hated feeling compelled to fill the empty spaces in life with unnecessary words: in her mind, words were too precious to waste like that.

After a bit, she was surprised to feel a hand, seemingly much warmer than the actual beanie itself, on her cap. Nowaki smiled at her and tousled it playfully.

"I like your hat ,Hiro-san."

Hiroki slapped his hand away.

"Knock it off, Dumb-ass!"

She readjusted her skewed chapeau, pulling it down low over her eyes, her auburn hair peeking out in wild wisps beneath it. Nowaki just grinned at this rebuff and kept moving.

As they continued to walk, Hiroki was suddenly worried about the fraternal feel of Nowaki's most recent action and his comment about her beanie.

Despite all her earlier assertions of fashion independence, she was kicking herself for not donning something just _a bit_ more feminine.

_Is Nowaki going to turn out like Akihiko and think of me as just another boyfriend? Or, well, really not even that._

She had no sooner completed that thought, when she felt a large hand tentatively take one of hers.

Hiroki didn't pull away, but allowed her hand to rest there, basking in the heat of Nowaki's touch. She chanced a glance up at him from beneath the knit rim of her hat. Nowaki was staring down at her and Hiroki didn't have to be a professor to recognize that his goofy expression was nowhere near merely platonic.

Looking away with a fresh blush coloring her cheeks, she was suddenly very glad she'd agreed to take the long route from the station.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	17. Study Date

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Seventeen: Study Date**

* * *

><p>Once they got to the library, Hiroki and Nowaki found a quiet table to spread out on. Settling in, Nowaki put set his backpack down and took off his sweatshirt.<p>

Hiroki stared at him curiously. Nowaki saw her expression and glanced down at the shirt he was wearing.

"Ah, Hiro-san, I'm sorry… I know I'm a bit dirty. I got a new job this afternoon and didn't have time to change before I was supposed meet you."

"Another job Nowaki?" There was a note of incredulity in Hiroki's voice.

"Yes. This one is with a construction company." Nowaki dug through his pack and pulled out a clean tee-shirt.

"Isn't that kind of hard work? Are you sure you should be doing something so physical? I mean you're only fifteen for Pete's sake." Hiroki was hard pressed to keep her rising concern out of her voice.

Nowaki looked up and gave her a marvelous smile. He wasn't used to having someone care about what he was doing, as long as he stayed out of trouble, and the worry in her voice touched him.

"I'm just doing clean up, Hiro-san, not actual construction. They won't let me work on a real crew until I'm eighteen. Besides, I don't mind physical work and it's going to pay enough I can quit two of my other jobs.

"That way I'll have more time to study and…" Nowaki's dark-blue eyes were hopeful. "Maybe more time to spend with you, Hiro-san?"

Hiroki felt herself blush profusely at this, as well as the intensity she saw reflected in Nowaki's gaze. She dropped her head, pretending to suddenly need something in her panda pack.

"I'm going to go change my shirt; I'll be right back, Hiro-san. Okay?"

"Uh, yeah sure," Hiroki said not looking up. "I printed off some test questions for you to practice with. I'll get those out while you're gone."

"Great! What a good idea. You really are amazing." Nowaki smiled again at the blushing girl sitting across from him.

Hiroki watched as Nowaki walked away, disappearing into the men's room not far from their table.

Smart as she knew she was, she couldn't figure this boy out for the life of her.

_How could anyone have such a hard life and stay so cheerful?_

Pulling a bunch of notebooks out of her bag, Hiroki located the folder that had the questions she'd printed off. She sighed and opened _Journey of the Summer Panda_ to where she'd left off reading it on the train, figuring as long as she was waiting she might as well make use of the time.

As she was set to start, however, Hiroki glanced up just in time to see another, slightly-older l boy push his way into the men's room. From where she sat, when the door swung open, Hiroki had a clear view of the row of sinks in the lavatory. Her eyes widened when she saw Nowaki, without his shirt on, standing with his back to her in front of one of the sinks .

Hiroki couldn't help it: she knew she shouldn't be looking at Nowaki like this without his knowledge, but she just couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away from his lean, well-muscled back. And what's more, as he stood in front of the men's room's long mirror, she was also able to see the front of his torso as well.

Normally Hiroki wasn't one to be faint of heart. Usually too, when she had to listen to the "normal" girls at school cooing over some boy's physique it really annoyed her. But before the door closed, when she saw Nowaki's tight abdomen, coupled with the flex of his back as he pulled the clean black t-shirt down over his broad shoulders and smoothed it over his lean belly, her heart started pounding and the smallest of squees escaped her.

Hiroki clapped her hands over her traitorous mouth. _What in the heck is going on here?_

Even Akihiko hadn't ever affected her quite like this.

Immediately turning her gaze back to the book lying in front of her, the words swam before Hiroki's eyes.

Nowaki emerged from the bathroom a minute later to find his tutor had turned a new and concerning shade of red.

"Hiro-san are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Hiroki muttered, purposely not looking up.

"I dunno, it's just that your face looks really hot. Do you have a fever?" Reaching out he touched a hand to her forehead.

Hiroki looked up at this touch. Nowaki stood before her in his altered attire, the white tee-shirt he had been wearing before draped loosely around the back of his neck.

She tried to arrange her face into an appropriate mask of irritation at his comment. But this was hard to manage: seeing him in his tight, clean, black tee-shirt, especially now that she knew what was underneath it.

"You're awfully observant. And, no. I don't have a fever." Hiroki bit out, pushing his hand away.

"And you're awfully cute," Nowaki said with a grin as he sat down. "Does that make us even?" He pulled the white shirt off from around his neck and stuck it into his open bag.

"Hardly," Hiroki snapped looking back down at her book trying to hide the new blush rolling in before the other had even cooled on her cheeks.

_Hrumph! you let a boy hold your hand and suddenly he gets cocky!_

"Sit down, Dumb-ass and let's get started! This is a study date, not a social event.

"The test questions are in there," Hiroki grumbled waving her hand in the direction of the folder.

Nowaki was still beaming at her designation of their meeting as a "date." He considered commenting on this, but then thought the better of it.

As he reached over to take the folder he noticed a notebook on the top of the pile of things Hiroki had pulled from her pack. There was a name on it written in a careful script: _Usami Akihiko_.

A brief shadow flickered over his face.

"Hiro-san, who's Usami?" Nowaki picked up the notebook, trying hard not to sound too curious.

At the mention of Akihiko's name Hiroki's head shot up.

"What?"

Seeing Nowaki with Akihiko's notebook in his hand and a puzzled and a slightly pained look on his face, she snatched the book away.

"That's none of your business!"

Immediately Hiroki regretted how strongly she said this as soon as she saw the bud of hurt in Nowaki's eyes instantly flower.

"You're right, Hiro-san. I'm sorry." Nowaki apologized dropping his eyes. "It's none of my business,"

Hiroki felt like she had just kicked a very tall puppy.

"Look Nowaki…" Her voice was much softer this time. "Akihiko is just a friend. We've known each other since we were kids and he writes stories and asks me to read them for him sometimes."

Hesitantly, Nowaki looked back up.

Seeing the soft hope in his eyes, Hiroki had a sudden realization of just how tender this kid's heart was and it made her own ache for him. Nowaki was actually quite like Akihiko in this sensitivity, but so different too: the boy sitting before her wore his emotions right on the surface, where Aki kept everything locked down inside.

Hiroki handed Nowaki the folder with the test questions. She decided to take a risk and offered him a slight smile at the same time. The way he lit back up at this caused another squee to start bubbling in her chest.

Hiroki covered it by pretending to cough.

_What in the hell is with me tonight?_

However, when Nowaki's hand brushed hers as he took the folder, this and any other rational thoughts immediately abandoned her

* * *

><p>After working for hours Hiroki was now just finishing grading Nowaki's questions. She had done her own homework while he had worked answering them. She was pleased, once they'd started, with how Nowaki had attacked the assignments she gave him with seriousness and diligence.<p>

Wielding a new red pen she had bought for marking Nowaki's test sheets, Hiroki felt powerful in a way that she hadn't experienced before and she found that she quite liked the sensation. Unfortunately, however, Nowaki wasn't giving her much chance to use it. Hiroki found herself rechecking her new pupil's work with a growing sense of amazement.

_So far he hasn't missed a single one._

_So there's a good brain inside that pretty head. _Hiroki was surprised at the sense of pleasure this brought her. _Maybe this kid is someone who could actually keep up with me?_

She was speculating on this when she looked up and saw the young giant seated across from her.

While she had been correcting, Nowaki had crossed his arms and laid his head down on the table, thinking he would just rest his eyes for a bit. Exhausted, he had almost immediately fallen asleep.

He had been so worried about losing Hiroki's number, he'd hardly slept the night before and had been going nonstop since his early morning paper routes. On top of that, he had downplayed to Hiroki just how physically demanding his new construction cleanup job was.

Looking at the slumbering boy, the test prep booklet she had given Nowaki to study, lying open and face down on the table under one of his long-fingered hands, Hiroki felt something flutter inside: Nowaki's sweet face looked so young when he was sleeping, no more than maybe thirteen.

Studying Nowaki's sleep-peaceful face for a moment, Hiroki's eyes grazed his smooth cheeks; they passed over long dark lashed eyes and strong brows. She was struck unexpectedly with the sudden desire to sweep the shaggy bangs off Nowaki's forehead and kiss it.

But she didn't.

Instead, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and felt the ever-present blush awake to her cheeks. Then she yawned and went back to re-checking Nowaki's work, vaguely aware of how heavy her own eyes were getting.

* * *

><p>Nowaki slowly opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. His blue orbs widened when he saw how late it was and he grimaced. Lady Kamijou was not going to think very highly of him when he brought her daughter home so late on a school night. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked across the table. Nowaki's heart skipped a beat when he saw Hiroki.<p>

She was sleeping. Her tousled, auburn head rested in the crook of one arm. The other was stretched out with the new red pen still loosely held in her finely-boned fingers. She must have been asleep for a while, as the pen had bled out on the test form it was resting on creating a large, crimson spot.

Nowaki stood up quietly and moved around the table. He knelt down next to Hiroki, feeling a little bit guilty for watching her sleep. He couldn't imagine, with her nature, she would care much for this open observation.

But he couldn't help it.

While Hiroki was lovely when she was awake, she was absolutely beautiful when she slept.

Blue eyes traveled over the porcelain skin of Hiroki's face, her cheeks carried the slightest hint of a blush with her even into her dreams it seemed. In this slumbering state Hiroki lost her fierceness. Nowaki felt his heart stirred with how fragile she looked. His eyes brushed over her long lashes down her elegant nose and came to rest on the sweet, pink lips. They were just slightly parted and he could hear the quiet breaths of her sleep.

Nowaki found himself leaning his face in closer, wanting so much to kiss her.

Just as he was about to, large, hazel eyes slowly fluttered open. It took Hiroki a moment to focus, but when she realized what she was seeing and how close Nowaki was, she sat bolt upright with a start.

"Gahhhhh! Nowaki, what in the hell are you doing?" Hiroki looked around suddenly recalling where she was, mortified for her outburst. "Were you watching me sleep?"

_What was it with people wanting to look at me when I'm unconscious?_

Nowaki drew back but not far enough for her comfort. "Ah, sorry Hiro-san, but it's late and I should be getting you home."

Hiroki looked at the clock. It was after ten. Her annoyance with Nowaki was quickly replaced by the greater worry about the fit her mother was sure to throw at how late she was coming home.

"Shit! I mean 'shoot'!" Hiroki corrected herself. She looked over at Nowaki who was grinning at her with amusement.

"I have to text my mom!" Hiroki rose and started stuffing things into her bag. "Nowaki will you watch my stuff? I'm going to run to the restroom and then we can go."

She didn't wait to hear the answer as she was checking her phone. There were already five calls from her mother.

As she was leaving the ladies' room a few minutes later she was locked into a text argument with her mother about being so late. For this reason, she wasn't watching where she was going.

She collided into someone when she stepped out the door.

"Hey, watch out!" she growled as she bent to retrieve her phone which had been knocked to the floor.

Looking up to see who she'd run into, Hiroki felt her stomach flip when she found herself staring into a very familiar pair of lavender eyes. "Ah, Aki…"

Akihiko looked at her with surprise, but if he felt any of the same discomfort she did, he certainly didn't show it.

"What are you doing here so late Hiroki?"

Hiroki perceived a tone of genuine concern in his voice and it made her heart ache.

"I'm studying, Dumb ass," Hiroki said in a whispered hiss. "What else would I be doing in a library?"

Then she countered, damning herself as she felt a furrow of her own feelings form on her brow, "What are you doing here and why weren't you in school today?"

"I was staying with a sick friend." Akihiko said simply.

This was true. He had called Misaki this morning to see how the younger boy was. They had both been drenched by the time they made it back to the Takahashi apartment. Akihiko hadn't bothered to go back in, he had just dropped Misaki off there. While he was fine, apparently the exposure to the wet and the cold had brought the younger boy's fever back on.

While on the phone Misaki had sworn he was fine, Akihiko could hear the misery in the boy's voice. Because of the Takahashis' situation, Takahiro was on a very strict attendance policy to maintain his scholarship, so he couldn't stay at home. Akihiko, on the other hand, had almost perfect attendance and wasn't worried about any of his coursework, so he'd taken it upon himself to go sit with Misaki for the day.

"And now, I looking for fucking Haruhiko," Akihiko voice suddenly carried a notable chill in it. "He's supposed to be here working on an assignment."

They had exchanged words that afternoon on the phone again after Akihiko discovered that Haru was still calling and harassing Misaki with declarations of his desire. He'd waited around the family home to confront his brother that evening and when Haruhiko hadn't shown up he had finally traced the older teen to the library.

"Oh…" Hiroki fell silent after this, unsure of what else she might say at this point that wouldn't somehow bring up the disastrous events of the previous day.

Seeing her discomfort Akihiko's eyes softened. In their collision Hiroki's wild bangs had become further disheveled, reaching out now, Akihiko carefully swept Hiroki's bangs back into a mild semblance of order. At the feel of his cool hand in her hair, Hiroki felt the rent in her heart start to bleed again.

"Look Hiroki, how about if I call off looking for Haru and see you home instead?" Akihiko offered.

"We could talk on the train. I know that you're mother wouldn't want to see you traveling home alone at this time of night."

"Aki…"

Before Hiroki could answer she felt a large hand on her shoulder.

Another hand drifted over her forehead, immediately heating the skin that had been made cool by Akihiko's chilled touch. Hiroki jumped as she felt herself drawn back. She saw Akihiko's eyes widen and a look of surprise form on his usually stoic face.

As she was pulled bodily away, behind her, Hiroki heard a low, adamant voice declare in no uncertain terms: "I'm seeing Hiro-san home so your help isn't needed here.

"Hiro-san is mine."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading!<strong>


	18. Second Kiss

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Eighteen: Second Kiss**

* * *

><p>Initially Hiroki was so stunned by Nowaki's actions she didn't know what to say. Not even when Nowaki grabbed her hand and pulled her into the maze-work of book shelves, Akihiko's shocked face quickly disappearing from her view.<p>

_"The library will be closing in fifteen minutes, please get your books and go to the circulation desk for checkout."_ A voice suddenly intoned over the library's loudspeakers.

This snapped Hiroki out of her silence.

"What in the hell, Nowaki? Let me go!" They were deep in the stacks now, so she wasn't too worried about disturbing anyone.

Nowaki didn't seem to hear her however, and just kept pulling her along behind him. Finally, Hiroki dug her heels in.

"I said let go of me!"

With an unexpected burst of strength she whipped her hand away. The force of this movement caused them both to stagger, knocking a number of books off the shelves.

Now still, they stared at each other, both panting. The pained expression on Nowaki's face made Hiroki's heart soften and this actually made her madder.

_Who is this guy to make me feel things so strongly?_

_"The library will be closing in ten minutes, if you have books to check out, please go to the circulation desk. Otherwise, kindly make you way towards the exit. Thank you for coming and we hope you come back and visit us again soon."_

Once the mechanized voice ended, overhead lights began turning off, leaving Hiroki and Nowaki in the shadows of the shelves.

"What right did you have to do that, Nowaki?"

Hiroki realized as she said this that she wasn't just talking about what had just happened with Aki, but also with all the emotions he'd stirred up inside her.

"I'm leaving!" she huffed, looking around, trying to figure out which way to go. She hadn't been paying attention to where Nowaki was dragging her and realized suddenly she was lost.

Then Hiroki saw an exit sign behind Nowaki.

"Move! Out of my way!" She tried to push past him.

"No," Nowaki said solemnly.

"Move it, Nowaki!" Hiroki growled through gritted teeth, doubling up her efforts to get past the annoying mass of boy in front of her.

"I won't."

Nowaki shifted his weight. When he did this, it threw Hiroki off balance.

Hiroki wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the next moment she found herself on her backside in the middle of the aisle.

Huge hazel eyes stared up incredulously at Nowaki, who was looking down back at her with a sorrowful storm raging in his blue eyes.

Seeing the whirlwind in his gaze swept away all of Hiroki's confusion and in an instant, she knew her heart was lost. Her response to this overwhelming realization was to start picking up the books they'd knocked to the floor and hurl them at the giant in front of her.

"Ow! Hiro-san!" Nowaki covered his head with his long arms as a torrent of texts rained down on him.

"Stupid! Idiot! Boy!" Hiroki fumed. "Acting that way in front of Akihiko and making me feel all confused!

"Who said you could do that?

"Do you even have any idea how I'm feeling?"

Once all the easily reachable missiles had been launched, Nowaki knelt down warily in front of her.

"Hiro-san…" He said softly, "I'm sorry."

These words stopped Hiroki in the midst of her rant.

"I know this may sound crazy to you, Hiro-san…" Nowaki rubbed one of the lumps that was quickly forming on his book battered head. "But I know even though we just met, you're the person I want to be with."

Nowaki stared into Hiroki's widening eyes. "I know that I'm nothing right now, not even a student, and I can see how hard you work and all the goals that you have.

"I think you are just the most amazing person."

Hiroki dropped her eyes and felt herself blush. "I'm not amazing, Dumb-ass," she muttered.

"But you are," Hiro-san

"Look…" Nowaki cautiously drew his lanky frame closer.

"I talked to that Tsumori guy today, and he said he could get me some work at the hospital. They have a scholarship for employees to help them pay for medical related studies."

Hesitantly he reached towards Hiroki, one of his large hands lifted her chin and she found herself looking into the bottomless depths of a pair of eye that burned with determined intensity.

"I am going to aim to be a doctor." Nowaki promised, "Though I don't know if I'll make it, I do know that I will do whatever it takes to make myself worthy of you someday."

Seeing the shocked expression in Hiroki's eyes,he dropped his own and added humbly, "I want to become someone who you will know will always be with you.

"The type of person who can stand side by side with you in whatever you decide to do."

_"The library will be closed in five minutes. If you have books to check out, please go to the circulation desk. Otherwise, kindly make your way towards the exit. Thank you for coming and we hope you come back and visit us again soon."_

Hiroki swallowed hard.

"Nowaki, what is this? I don't know what you're talking about.

"All this stuff about wanting to be with me and wanting to be worthy. How can you say things like that? You're only fifteen years old!"

"I may be young Hiro-san, but I believe my life has already taught me what is important.

"I knew your value the first time I saw you and I intend to hold on and protect something so precious.

"I want to make you my priority."

Hiroki looked to the side. Nowaki's words touched a deep place inside her.

Still, she had never been the kind of girl who believed in love at first sight and she had honestly believed she was in love with Akihiko.

Yet, from the moment that rocket had fallen from the sky, from that first smile, that first touch; Hiroki had known too, immediately, there was something different about Nowaki.

She understood in this moment, as crazy as it felt, that this was it: that it had to be him.

_This pisses me off. I didn't want this! _

It was so insane, so completely unreasonable and though she might have a bit of a temper, Hiroki had always considered herself a logical and reasonable person.

She lunged for one more book that had been just out of reach. Grabbing it, Hiroki clouted Nowaki over his already book-bumped head.

"This isn't a joke, You dumb-ass boy! You can't play with my feelings like this!

"You better know that if I ever let you in, you are never getting back out!

"So you better think hard about what you're… say…ing…" Hiroki stopped and covered her mouth, realizing that she had just inadvertently spoken her truth.

She looked down, blushing madly. "God damn it," Hiroki sighed. Tears filled her eyes, furious with herself and her vulnerable honesty.

"This sucks…this totally sucks."

"Hiro-san…"

In the way he spoke her name, Nowaki's soft warm voice told her he would keep her secret.

This was followed by equally warm, gentle hands that easily pulled her forward.

Before she knew it, Hiroki's jean-clad legs were straddling Nowaki's. She found herself half-sitting, kneeling over one thigh of the boy's lanky, folded legs.

_"The library is closed, thank you. Please come back visit us again soon."_

The last of the lights went off suddenly and the two teens found themselves alone in the darkness of the empty library

One of Nowaki's hands moved to hold Hiroki's back, the other came to rest against her pale cheek. Hiroki felt the last of her resistance crumble and she leaned her head into the touch.

Soft firm lips brushed her own and the heat of the kiss warmed her whole body.

Any remaining doubts were swept away instantly by the Typhoon that embraced her.

Hiroki knew in an instant, that from this moment on, no matter how much she raged against the storm, it would always be Nowaki.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	19. Going Home

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Nineteen: Going Home**

* * *

><p>A flashlight beam cast a sudden ray of light on two blushing faces.<p>

"Hey, you kids! What do you think you're doing there? The library is closed now!" A gruff male voice suddenly shouted, disrupting Hiroki and Nowaki's intimate moment.

"Shit… I mean shoot!" Hiroki jumped up, grabbing her panda pack from where it had been dropped. Nowaki followed suit, leaping up a bit stiffly, and grabbing his bag too.

"This way!" Hiroki called as she dashed towards the exit sign.

"Uh, Hiro-san…" Behind her Nowaki's voice sounded a bit apprehensive.

The security guard who had stumbled on them was now coming after, angered by seeing all the scattered books on the floor. "Hey, you brats, don't you have any respect for literature?!"

"Come on, Nowaki!" Hiroki hissed, putting her hands on the door.

"But, Hiro-san, I think that door is alarmed."

"Well, then I hope those long legs of yours are good for something besides making you so damn tall!"

_I can't believe I'm doing this!_ Disrespecting a library like this was tantamount to sacrilege for the studious teen. Still, Hiroki drew a deep breath and pushed.

The alarm sounded.

Bursting out the door, the two teenage lingerers found themselves out in an alley behind the library. Hiroki grabbed Nowaki's hand.

"Come on idiot!" she shouted, pulling him along behind her.

They ran about three blocks until they felt secure enough they weren't being chased before finally altering their pace. When Hiroki slowed down to a walk at last, she was breathing hard but not too winded.

"I think we're safe now."

Nowaki looked down and offered her a goofy smile. "That was pretty fun actually, Hiro-san! Don't you think?"

Hiroki suddenly noticed she was still holding his hand. She released it, pushing it back at him with an air of irritation.

"Dumb boys and your idea of what's fun! We could have really gotten into trouble Nowaki!"

"But we didn't," Nowaki said mildly, still smiling.

Hiroki couldn't help it, she felt herself pulling out just the smallest of smiles herself. "I guess you're right," she chuckled and bumped her shoulder into Nowaki's side playfully.

"Hiro-san, you're so cute," Nowaki laughed too, reaching for her hand again.

"Am not, Dumb-ass," Hiroki huffed, but she didn't try to pull out of the warm grasp once he'd caught her.

They walked for a while then, side by side, holding hands in amicable silence.

"Hiro-san…" Nowaki's warm voice sounded kind of dreamy and Hiroki looked up in response.

"That kiss…" he started, intense blue eyes sparkled.

"Yeah, I know…" Hiroki looked away and a new blush rose to her cheeks. "It was… amazing."

"Yeah," Nowaki sighed happily.

He was actually glad the guard had come when he did. That kiss and having Hiroki sitting on him like that had been making him "excited" and Nowaki wanted to make sure he took things slow and let Hiroki know he respected her.

Somehow Hiroki seemed to intuit this as she pulled his arm sharply.

"Just don't you go getting ideas Nowaki… I'm not easy, you know!"

"Of course not, Hiro-san," Nowaki nodded. He had a feeling this declaration extended into a multitude of areas beyond the one they were presently discussing.

"Just so we're clear!"

Nowaki noticed, however, that after she said this Hiroki gripped his hand just a little bit tighter.

"Perfectly," he grinned as they headed into the train station.

* * *

><p>Nowaki gazed down at Hiroki. She had fallen asleep leaning against his shoulder as they were riding the train back to her district.<p>

He couldn't recall the last time he had been so happy; he felt like his heart might burst with all the joy it contained. It suddenly no longer bothered him that he had never been adopted. In his eternal optimism, Nowaki had always reasoned that the universe meant for him to eventually belong to someone and now he'd finally found her. Having this now, nothing else mattered.

Still sleeping. Hiroki pressed against him a little bit harder, a shiver shook her slender framed and beneath her beanie, she softly sighed.

"Cold."

Nowaki carefully adjusted his arm, pulling it out and wrapping it around the petite girl's shoulders. Hiroki snuggled into the heat beneath this protective, warm wing.

An older woman across the aisle regarded the teens, somehow managing to look both disapproving and wistful at the same time. Nowaki smiled at the woman who sniffed indignantly at his response to her peeping.

Unfazed and still smiling, Nowaki turned back to his sleeping Hiro-san. Leaning his shaggy, dark head over so that it rested against the soft knit of Hiroki's beanie, he marveled at the wonderful sensation of feeling her breathing softly against him.

_If this train ride went on forever,_ Nowaki thought contentedly, _it would still end too soon._

He closed his own eyes and drifted in this new place of belonging, feeling truly at peace for the first time in his life.

* * *

><p>"Hiro-san."<p>

A soft voice pulled Hiroki back into consciousness. She blinked her large, hazel eyes.

"Wha..?"

"We're at your stop, Hiro-san," Nowaki murmured.

Hiroki regretfully pushed herself up out of Nowaki's warmth. When she realized his arm was around her, her brow furrowed and she extricated herself from under it as gracefully as possible.

Wiping the back of her hand self-consciously across her mouth, Hiroki hoped to the gods she hadn't been doing something as embarrassing as drooling.

Satisfied she was okay, she got up, followed by Nowaki.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier Nowaki?" she asked peevishly.

"I did try to wake you up earlier, Hiro-san. Like ten times."

Nowaki exited the car after her.

"Hrumph... You sound like my mother."

Nowaki chuckled at this which just earned him a still slightly sleepy glare.

"I can make it home from here," Hiroki yawned rubbing one of her eyes. "I know you have to get up early. Why don't you just take the next train back?"

"Nuh-uh, Hiro-san!" Nowaki shook his shaggy head. "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't see you safely to your door. Besides, I have to explain to your mother why I kept her daughter out so late."

Hiroki cocked her head at Nowaki and his old-fashioned sensibilities.

"Okay," she shrugged. "But I really can take care of myself, you know." She hitched her pack up higher over her shoulder.

"I know, Hiro-san, but it will make me feel better. So please, humor me."

This soothed Hiroki's pride so she didn't harass Nowaki about it further. To be completely honest, despite how late it was, she really didn't want to lose his company. In fact, they had almost left the shop area around the station when she suddenly turned and said, "Oh, by the way, Nowaki... I promised my mother I'd pick up some eggs on my way home."

"It's a good thing you remembered before we left here, Hiro-san. There's a twenty-four hour mini-mart right there." Nowaki nodded, indicating a little market just across from them.

"Um, my mom only likes to get her eggs from a certain shop," Hiroki fibbed, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "It's… a ways back, if you don't mind backtracking a bit?…"

She really didn't need eggs, but she found herself wanting to linger with Nowaki and, since she was already late and was going to be in trouble anyway, Hiroki thought she might as well go for it.

"Okay, Hiro-san." Nowaki shrugged and happily followed her on her imagined errand. All too soon for Hiroki, however, the eggs were safely ensconced in her panda and they were back on the path to her house.

They had walked a ways, when Hiroki finally worked up the courage to blurt out, "Ah… Nowaki, would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?" Before he could answer, she quickly added, "You don't have to or anything. I mean, I'd understand if you don't want to."

Nowaki smiled at her. "I'd love to come to your house for dinner, Hiro-san."

Hiroki felt her hopes dashed as quickly as these words raised them when Nowaki sighed. "But I can't because I am scheduled to work the next few nights."

"Oh sure, I understand," working hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice, Hiroki turned her eyes to the ground. Internally though she was cursing herself for being so forward and so eager.

They walked for a bit more in silence, then Nowaki, cleared his throat.

"Umm you know, Hiro-san, I have Saturday off from my afternoon jobs and your mother said something this morning about a school festival this weekend."

"Yeah, the literature club I'm in has a booth and I'm playing the piano for the music program's recital," Hiroki said softly, glancing at her companion out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, uh maybe I could come and watch you play then?" Nowaki nervously scratched the back of his neck. He paused a moment.

"And your mother also said something about a dance?"

Hiroki's forehead furrowed at this bit of information. "That matchmaking old cow!"

"Hiro-san, you shouldn't speak of your mother that way."

Hiroki sniffed at Nowaki's gentle rebuke.

"So, would you take me, Hiro-san? I've never been to a dance before."

Hiroki looked at Nowaki; he was so earnest. Besides, the more she considered it, it would be better than dinner because her mother wouldn't be there.

"Okay... As long as I'm not grounded for getting home so late."

"I'll explain everything to Kamijou-san when we get to your house," Nowaki said confidently.

He reached over with a little less surety, however, to take Hiroki's hand again. Hiroki permitted him to take it. She wasn't normally so touchy, but she allowed herself that it was cold and Nowaki's hands were so warm.

"So what are you going to tell her, Nowaki?" Hiroki asked curiously.

"The truth of course, Hiro-san," Nowaki said as if there were no other possible option.

"Yeah, good luck with that, you dumb goof."

Hiroki sighed when she saw them approaching the Kamijou estate. She could see the light on in their formal parlor from there and imagined its wood floor polished bright by her mother's pacing slippers.

"Well, I will probably leave out the part about the kiss and the alarm,"Nowaki admitted somewhat sheepishly.

Hiroki tried hard to bite back her smile.

"There may be some hope for you yet, Nowaki."

Nowaki gave her hand a light squeeze.

"I'm glad you think so, Hiro-san."

* * *

><p><strong>So if the events in this chapter look familiar to you,tell me where you know it from... <strong>

**Thanks for reading**!


	20. Fated Couples

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twenty: "Fated" Couples**

* * *

><p>It was the morning of the school festival and Miyagi was putting the finishing touches on the Literature Club's booth. He rolled out the banner he'd just completed a few hours before that would hang over the top of the booth's front.<p>

It didn't look too shabby, considering he'd had to do most everything himself: his sensei was ill and all the other student's in club had bailed on him with the exception of that brat, Shinobu, and he wasn't even a member.

Miyagi grimaced, thinking about what had happened the night before. He and Shinobu had worked until quite late, getting the decorations made for the display. After a few hours of working together, he'd realized, to his horror, his ex-girlfriend's little brother was actually making a series of awkward passes at him.

Finally, trying to scare Shinobu, he had kissed the twerp.

Miyagi was still kicking himself over his actions. He had just turned eighteen after all, and that blond brat was only thirteen and a boy on top of everything else. The worst part of it all, however, was that his kiss had made Shinobu cry and not because it scared him, but because the stupid little kid actually really liked him.

Now that he was thinking about it, Miyagi realized to his chagrin, he actually thought Shinobu had looked kind of cute when he cried.

Miyagi wished desperately that he was off the school grounds so he could smoke. It was a habit he'd picked up about a year ago because he thought it made him look manly. Now he realized all it did was eat up his pocket money and give him bad breath. But, he was hooked now, so what was a guy supposed to do?

As he was wishing for a distraction from his nicotine fit and his guilt, what Miyagi got instead was the sound of an all too-familiar, irritated voice, carping behind him.

"What in the hell, Miyagi? The theme of the booth was supposed to be "_Fated_ Literary Couples," not _Destined, _you idiot," Shinobu huffed looking at the characters on the banner as he drew closer to the booth.

"Why aren't you at home watching Saturday morning anime?" Miyagi sighed rubbing his suddenly aching temples. "Do your parents know you're out so early?"

"My folks don't give a damn what I do as long as I stay out of their hair. And I haven't watched cartoons since I was five!"

Miyagi ignored this rather disturbing news and instead said, "fate, destiny, isn't it the same thing really? Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters, Old Man!" the blond teen exclaimed.

"Though they may be related, 'fate' and 'destiny' are two completely different things! You're a literature student for Pete's sake! You think you'd know the significance of a word's true meaning.

"And anyways," Shinobu added, "I think I made my stance on 'fate' pretty clear last night."

Miyagi glanced around nervously to see if anyone was paying attention to the tiny spitfire. "Honest to god," he whispered under his breath, "this kid is a terrorist." Then inspiration struck.

"Uh… Hey, Shinobu, you're right!"

"What?" Shinobu eyed Miyagi suspiciously.

"I have another clean banner around here somewhere… Why don't you go see if you can borrow some paint from the art department and we'll make a new one?"

"Really?"

Miyagi suddenly felt kind of bad, the younger boy's huge, gray eyes looked so hopeful. "Sure, Brat," he muttered uncomfortably.

"Okay, Miyagi!"

Shinobu was suddenly significantly more cheerful, though somehow the kid still managed to look slightly pissed off.

"I'll be back in a minute!"

Feeling his eyes drift down to the younger boy's cute, way-too-young backside as Shinobu wandered off on his quest for paint, Miyagi felt like a huge pervert.

"I'm doomed," he sighed sadly and then wondered if that word was also related to "fated." But before he got to bogged down in such cumbersome ponderings a wonderful distraction presented itself in the sudden appearance of one Kamijou Hiroki.

"Ah, now that's more like it!" The conflicted teen grinned.

"Ah, Hee-ro-keee!" Miyagi greeted the sullen girl approaching him.

_Big, dumb bastard!_ Hiroki thought to herself, but in this instance, surprisingly, she was not thinking about Miyagi.

She was thinking about Nowaki.

The stupid boy had smoothed things over with her mother just fine. What magic Nowaki possessed that made her mother melt Hiroki couldn't imagine, but it pissed her off even more today than it had the night he'd brought her home.

Because then, after all of that, Nowaki, the stupid jerk, hadn't even bothered to call her for three days; not since the night he dropped her off at her door. And this time she was assured he knew her number because she'd forced him to memorize it on the last leg of their walk to her house from the train station.

On top of this, after seeing Akihiko at the library, he hadn't been back to school all week. Hiroki had even swallowed her pride and tried to reach him, but his phone seemed to be completely turned off.

It was so frustrating! Not that she felt anything anymore romantically for Akihiko now that she'd kissed Nowaki, but she still wanted to be friends.

Besides, who else was she supposed to bitch about her new boyfriend to?

But really, more than Akihiko's absence what crushed her was the three days… three WHOLE days with no word at all from Nowaki after his confession.

As far as Hiroki was concerned Nowaki might have just as well up and left for another country for year.

That's what it had felt like at least.

Then, late last night he'd finally texted. He must have borrowed someone's phone as Hiroki knew he didn't have one of his own and she didn't recognize the number. He'd asked her to meet him at the front of the school.

_Dumb-ass!_ Hiroki fumed. She was so mad at him she hadn't planned on meeting him at all.

_What did I tell him about my heart?!_

_Didn't he listen?!_

She had moped around her house all morning and then, despite her best intentions to be cold, when she suddenly realized how close it was to the time she was supposed to meet Nowaki, she had panicked.

Throwing her performance clothes into her pack, she'd jumped into the shower and then pulled on her jeans and hoodie and run all the way to the school, finding, to her mortification, that in her hurry she'd arrived more than half an hour early. On top of that, she hadn't even taken the time to dry her hair after her shower and even though it was short, as thick as it was, it was still wet.

The worst of it all, however, was that even though she was furious, Hiroki realized she'd already forgiven him and just wanted to see the tall goof again. Then the blasted boy didn't even show up and she'd waited well beyond the time Nowaki had said he'd be there.

Finally convinced she'd been abandoned yet again, Hiroki left their appointed meeting place and had come seeking something to try and keep her mind off of her heartbreak.

Miyagi's eyebrow's raised as she drew closer. "What's with the wet look Kamijou-chan? You look like a drowned rat."

"Nothing, I'm fine," Hiroki dropped her pack on the ground near the booth. "I'm here to help," she sighed.

Miyagi stared at her: she really seemed out of sorts. He wondered what might have happened to throw Kamijou off so?

"Look, why don't you help me put this banner up?" he offered hoping it might take the cute girl's mind off of whatever was bothering her.

"There a stepping stool right there," the older teen directed. "" I can get this side, if you can get the other. I'd like to try and get this up before the brat gets back."

Hiroki took the corner of the banner and climbed onto the stool, not caring but suspecting just who the "brat" was Miyagi had mentioned. Reaching up to hook the banner up on the pole, suddenly Hiroki lost her balance and toppled over pulling the banner out of Miyagi's startled hands.

Hiroki found herself, ass on the ground, the banner draped over her damp head and tangled around her limbs. She stood up shakily. The embarrassment of falling was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart over Nowaki's abandonment, especially after everything he'd said to her the night they'd kissed. But the two things combined had her right on the edge.

Seeing the upset in Hiroki's hazel eyes, Miyagi joked, "Hey, cheer up!" It's just a banner… and so you tripped… It's nothing to get upset about. It's not like you just got dumped or something."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Hiroki tried to laugh along with Miyagi, but the sounds caught in her throat: what her senpai had just said was too close to the truth. Tears welled in her eyes and as much as Hiroki willed them to stay there, they just wouldn't obey.

Big, heavy drops suddenly rolled down her cheeks.

Miyagi saw this and was incredibly disconcerted. He realized that maybe his joke wasn't so funny. In fact, just maybe it was true. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen that weird, pale kid Kamijou seemed to always be hanging around with.

_Had something had happened between them? _He watched as Hiroki struggled to hold back her tears.

"Sorry, Senpai, I don't know what came over me. Just being a silly girl, I guess." Hiroki sniffed and tried to wipe the tears that refused to stop falling from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Looking at the banner-draped girl, Miyagi shook his head and sighed. "You always try to be so tough, but do you really think you're fooling anyone?"

"Oi, Kamijou-chan, can't you see that your ironclad armor is full of chinks?"

Moving in, he began extricating Hiroki from the fabric. This just made her feel worse. Hiroki hung her head and sniffed. Then she felt a large hand lift her chin.

Her eyes widened with confusion at the strange look on Miyagi's face.

"Senpai?"

Last night Miyagi had made one person start crying with a kiss. Maybe this morning he could use a kiss to make someone else stop.

_What could it hurt?_ Besides, he had to admit, a sad Hiroki was really cute.

His lips had just barely brushed Hiroki's stunned mouth when a large hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing him roughly around the neck and shoving him back, hard.

_What could it hurt?_ The answer to Miyagi's question was apparently: _a lot!_

As the continued pressure of the strong hand compromised his airway, the world around Miyagi grew fuzzy. Tumbling to the ground, the literature club president heard a furious Hiroki shout a name.

"Nowaki!"

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for Reading.<strong>


	21. Late Arrivals

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Late Arrivals**

* * *

><p>Nowaki felt himself being called out of the red fog that had enveloped him.<p>

"Cool it! Knock it off, Nowaki, you big idiot!" Hiroki shouted.

He had already been upset to start with, even before he'd gotten to the festival. Two of the other boys hadn't shown up for their paper routes that morning and his section director, Carter-san, had demanded he take them. Nowaki had worn himself ragged getting them done so quickly, even so, he had still arrived at the school late. He had been looking frantically for Hiro-san only to find her, just in time to see some other guy a making a move.

This sight of this, on top of everything else, had pushed him over the edge.

Nowaki was now aware there were four hands trying to hold him back. He dropped the raised fist he was about to level at the boy who had been so obviously about to kiss HIS Hiro-san.

Unclenching his fist, he ran his fingers through his thick, damp hair: he'd flown to the festival as soon as he was able, but had stopped for the barest of minutes after his routes to clean himself up. So, between Nowaki and Hiroki's semi-sodden heads, it was almost looked as if they had been caught together in some unexpected downpour.

Two hands left Nowaki as Hiroki dashed forward to assist the gasping Miyagi.

"Oh Kami, Senpai, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Miyagi tried to wave her away.

"I'm fine," he croaked, although his face was still a bit gray.

Miyagi stared up at the other boy with a mixture of nervousness, conviction, and awe. Then he shifted his eyes to the owner of the other pair of hands that had endeavored to hold the giant teen back and his expression only intensified.

No one had been in the classrooms when Shinobu visited the Art Department, so he'd just pretty much helped himself to the supplies. He'd been on his way back, pockets filled with tubes of paint, a partially-filled, gallon bucket clasped in each small hand and arrived just in time to see Miyagi lean in towards Hiroki.

Filled with hot rage when he saw his "Fated" boyfriend look like he was about to lock lips with some dumb girl, the tiny blond had dropped the buckets immediately. He was about to fly over and give Miyagi a piece of his mind, when a tall, dark, and scary guy steeped out of nowhere and beat him to it.

Now it was one thing, if Shinobu wanted to whale on Miyagi for being a hormonal dumb-ass, who obviously was still in denial of his true "Shinobu-sexual" orientation. But, someone else threatening his inevitable boyfriend was more than he could stand. He'd darted over and grabbed a hold of Miyagi's too-tall attacker, pulling him back with all his wee might.

Now that Miyagi was out of danger (from Nowaki at least) Shinobu let Nowaki have it.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded fiercely, the fire in his tone making up for the cracking of his voice. He poked Nowaki in the solar plexus, which was about as high as he could reach, with one thin finger.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size and leave my boyfriend alone?

"Oh, that's right… Because there is no one your size, you big, dumb giant!"

_What in the hell does that kid think he's doing?_

"Shinobu!" Miyagi barked hoarsely in warning_. _Although he had to admit to himself the sheer balls of the brat were impressive, and the kid's dogged devotion was actually really sweet, in a way.

"Boyfriend, Senpai?" Hiroki whispered.

Miyagi just shook his head trying to dislocate the uncomfortable thoughts that suddenly lodged there. "The kid's delusional," he rasped.

Hearing this Shinobu turned, staring daggers.

"It's not delusion, it's Fate!"

Seeing the glisten in the younger boy's eyes, Miyagi felt terrible that Shinobu had overheard him.

_Damn, that kid's ears are sharp_.

Nowaki just stood there staring down in confusion at the tiny terror. Then he watched as Hiroki popped up from beside Miyagi and went and picked her pack up off the ground. Hiroki's cheeks were pink and her expression was definitely flustered.

"Well if you three decided to continue your rumble, you might want to call Pay Per View and offer them the rights, because I 'm sure it will be entertaining. I, however, am leaving. I need to go practice." Hiroki turned and headed off in the direction of the Music Building.

"Hiro-san, wait…" Nowaki called, chasing after, forgetting all about the odd couple still in front of him. Miyagi watched him take off after Hiroki.

"Man that guy's going to have his hands full."

Then he looked up at the angry blond standing over him. He shook his shaggy, dark head.

_Speaking of handfuls…_

"What the hell was that, Miyagi?" Despite his huff, Shinobu's eyes were fixed on the ground and there was just the slightest quaver in his voice. The change in Shinobu's tone shocked Miyagi.

"Shinobu…"

Miyagi tried to keep his tone gruff, which, given the jarring his throat just had, wasn't hard. Then he saw a tear rolling down the younger boy's smooth cheek.

_I'm such an ass… _This was twice he'd made Shinobu cry in the last twenty-four hours, which was a new low, even for him.

Though Shinobu sniffled and tried to hold back his frustrated tears, staring at those huge, watery, gray eyes Miyagi realized once again how cute the kid was when he cried. A little bit of the block he'd built up over his heart shifted, and he suddenly wondered how cute Shinobu might be if he ever smiled.

"My throat hurts."

"Serves you right, you perverted old man…" Shinobu chided. "Trying to take advantage of a young girl!"

"What?" Miyagi's blue eyes widened at this reprimand."Wait!… So what the heck do you call it if I take advantage of a young boy?"

"Well, I told you, Miyagi… Man you're thick sometimes… If it's me… I call that 'Fate.' Shinobu's expression was serious as he said this, though the slightest glint of hope glowed in his stern tone.

"Otherwise, you're still a pervert."

Shinobu extended his hand. "I know something that might make your throat feel better."

Miyagi took the hand as he got up, being careful not to pull the smaller teen over in the process. "A cigarette?" he said hopefully standing now and dusting himself off.

Shinobu wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"Stop it.. I'm not a baby, Miyagi!" He moved to pull his head away as Miyagi reached out a large hand and clumsily wiped the tear-tracks off of his cheek, although secretly this tender touch thrilled Shinobu.

"Okay, so what will make my throat feel better then?" Miyagi asked.

"Ice cream!" Shinobu started moving purposefully in the direction of the creamery concession booth. "You're buying, by the way."

_Of course…_

Miyagi rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Shinobu… Ice cream? And you say you're not a baby, huh?" He teased.

Looking over at the Literature Club's booth for a moment, Miyagi figured "what the hell" the other students should be showing up soon. They could man it. He turned and fell into step alongside his blond terrorist.

"Everybody likes ice cream," Shinobu said with conviction. "Nothing babyish about it!"

_I don't like ice cream._ Miyagi sighed. _But then as a rule I don't really like sweets._ He brought his hand unconsciously to his throat and rubbed it. "Damn, that kid was strong."

"Kamijou-san seemed pretty pissed. I wonder what that's all about about?" Shinobu wondered out loud.

Miyagi shrugged. "Who knows?" He lost all interest in Hiroki's drama as his imagination suddenly flashed with a disturbing image of Shinobu's pink lips and slick little tongue wrapped around something cool and creamy.

Suddenly Ice cream did have an certain appeal. "If you get ice cream, maybe I'll eat some of yours."

"I'm getting two scoops then!" Shinobu declared. The idea of an indirect kiss from a shared scoop brought a slight smile to his face. He looked up, inadvertently sharing this rare expression with Miyagi.

_Yeah, Shinobu's smiling face is definitely much more adorable than his crying face._

Miyagi decided he should try and figure out how cultivate this cuter look.

"Whatever you want, Brat. Two scoops it is!" He smiled back down at Shinobu feeling oddly content as they drifted deeper into the festival.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading.<strong>


	22. Room for Practice

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Room for Practice**

* * *

><p>Hiroki hurried quickly, ducking amongst the booths that filled the campus grounds, rapidly striding towards the Music Building. Nowaki followed fast behind her, but not being as familiar with the school grounds slowed him down; plus, he was still tired after all the extra route-running he'd done earlier.<p>

Finally he caught up with her, just after she'd entered the building.

"Hiro-san!"

There were other students there to perform, going in and out of the building, using the practice rooms, preparing. A group of girls Hiroki had some familiarity with passed by, eying Nowaki speculatively before they disappeared down the hall amidst excited whispers.

Hiroki rolled her eyes at the backs of the fading girls and their giggles. Then she turned around, staring at Nowaki intently a moment before dropping her eyes. She could hardly hear her own words over the pounding of her heart.

"I think we should break up."

"What? Nowaki's expression was one of stunned confusion. "But we've barely started going out!

"Wait, is this because I was late, Hiro-san? Because I can explain… A few of the other runners didn't show up today, and my supervisor…"

Hiroki nervously ran her fingers through her still-damp hair; her heart clenched in her chest.

"No… no… Nowaki. It's nothing like that…" she lied. "I uh, have just been thinking about it for the past few days and I think maybe it would be better for the both of us…"

Seeing the pain Nowaki's face tore at her, but this was all too messy… too dangerous. She'd be better off confining her romance to books, they were so much more manageable.

"Is this because of that other boy then, Hiro-san?" Nowaki's distress was reflected as clearly in his voice as it was in the pools of his blue eyes. "That guy who was trying to kiss you… Do you want him for your boyfriend instead of me?"

"What?"

Hiroki was appalled at the suggestion she be interested in Miyagi but she was glad that Nowaki brought it up: it gave her a place to focus her emotions, somewhere other than on the deep ache that had pierced her the moment she'd uttered the words, "break up."

If Nowaki hadn't been so inaccessible, she would have sent him a note or mailed him a postcard rather than do this in person. But now it was out, she'd said it; and she wasn't the kind of person who said things lightly or took back the things she said. Not with her stubborn pride.

"No, I don't want him for a boyfriend and, if Miyagi had tried to kiss me, I would have pummeled him!" Turning and heading off down the hall, Hiroki said angrily, "I'd never let anyone but the one I love touch me, Dumb-ass!"

Nowaki was confused. Here Hiroki was, telling him she wanted to break up and, at the same time, she'd just told him that she only let the one she loved touch her.

_As of three days ago that was me._ Nowaki shook his head and moved to catch up with the speedy teen again. _Girls are such complex creatures._

"Wait, Hiro-san!"

Back at Hiroki's side again now, they quickly paced down the hall together. Finally Hiroki stopped and faced him.

"Honestly, Nowaki, you don't want to be here with me, so don't pretend!

"Why don't you just go back to one of your jobs? Maybe that new program you started at the hospital this week. Then you don't have to worry about not calling or texting me, or being late, or standing me up!"

Hiroki hated herself for being so cruel, but the sooner that Nowaki admitted she was right, that he wasn't really as interested as he'd originally said, that he'd decided she was too much trouble and not worth the effort, the better off they would both be.

Nowaki stared at her in stunned silence. He'd thought originally that perhaps some of what Hiro-san had been saying was because of how he'd behaved towards that other boy. And he couldn't really blame her if she was feeling slightly frightened of him right now. He rarely lost his temper, but he also rarely ever wanted anything as badly as he desired a certain brown-haired beauty to be part of his life.

Hearing her now though, Nowaki realized Hiro-san was mad because he hadn't tried to contact her for the last three days.

Hiroki turned and darted down the hall again; and once again too, he chased after her.

He caught up with her at last, outside of one of the practice rooms. Grabbing Hiroki's arm, Nowaki tried to be as gentle as he could. He didn't want to hurt her at all, or to intimidate Hiro-san in any way, but he also didn't want to have her run away again either.

He slipped his hand down to take hers. Holding it gently but securely, Nowaki used his tall form to slowly back Hiroki up so that she was against the wall of the hallway.

"Hiro-san, is this because I haven't called you? I thought you…"

"Ha!" Hiroki laughed nervously. "Nothing like that…"

She went on quickly. "It was just stupid to think we'd work out anyway. Obviously we both have too much going on to spend time together… And, I am older, and our lives are too disparate… We're just from different worlds."

Nowaki's heart broke at these words.

Shaking his shaggy head, he gazed deep into Hiroki's glistening eyes. In a voice that was quiet but filled with conviction he replied, "Hiro-san, I never thought anything like that."

Seeing the truth of this in Nowaki's face made Hiroki's knees tremble. She ducked out from under his arm and into the practice room, closing the door on him. She locked it and sank down on the floor.

She liked him so much…

This was all so real… and so mixed up… and sooo messy.

_I'm not ready for this._

"Hiro-san, please open the door." Nowaki entreated from outside, rattling the doorknob.

"No! Just go away!" Hiroki snapped.

"I am not leaving until you talk to me!"

"I said, go the hell away, Nowaki!" Hiroki called through the door.

On the other side, she heard Nowaki sigh. "You're leaving me with no choice Hiro-san."

_Finally the idiot is going to leave!_

Hiroki exhaled a breath of relief… Or was it regret?

Nowaki began clearing his throat. "I am just going to have to stand out here and sing until you open this door and let me in."

Hiroki was up like a shot, her eyes huge. "You can't do that, Nowaki! What'll people think? I mean, I go to school here!"

"Fortunately for me, I have never worried too much about what others think about me."

Nowaki's voice dropped. "With the exception of you, that is, Hiro-san."

He waited, holding his breath once these words left his mouth. Then a few moments later he heard the door unlatch and a big, hazel eye appear in the opening crack. At last Hiroki stepped back and Nowaki entered the practice room.

Hiroki said nothing, she just went and sat on the bench at the piano in the room and began pretending to study her sheet music.

Nowaki sat down on the floor, quietly waiting for her to say something while Hiroki continued to ignore him. After ten minutes of silence, he stood up and headed to the door.

"Maybe it would be better if I just left after all, Hiro-san. I mean, you'd probably practice better in privacy anyways, so I'll just go. Good luck with your performance."

His large hand had turned the knob on the door and started to pull it open to leave, when a smaller hand suddenly appeared underneath his, pushing the door shut again. Nowaki turned and saw Hiro-san standing next to him. She had her eyes fixed on the ground, arm outstretched in front of her, she was leaning her whole weight on the door.

"No."

Hiroki wouldn't meet Nowaki's eyes. "Don't go."

Nowaki reached over and took Hiroki's slender wrist in one of his large hands, turning her towards him. Hiroki glanced up at him, her eyes filled with nervous apprehension.

Another large hand tenderly took her other wrist and Hiroki felt Nowaki lift them slowly over her head as he gently moved her. Shoulder's pressed back against the door, her lifted arms pinned, a delicious sense of captivity overcame Hiroki.

Nowaki gazed down at her. Hiroki dropped her eyes, looking away.

"Did you grow more overnight?"

"Just in my feelings for you," Nowaki whispered.

Glancing back up, Hiroki's brow furrowed. "God you're a sap, Nowaki. Do those lines kinds of lines really work on girls?" Despite her best efforts Hiroki realized she sounded breathless.

"I could care less about 'girl's'. Did it work on you, Hiro-san?"

Tearing her gaze away from Nowaki's astounding storm-blue eyes, Hiroki looked down once more, biting her bottom lip.

"Maybe..."

"Well, at least that's not a 'no'." Nowaki smiled, but his voice held a tender vulnerability. At his tone, Hiroki raised her gaze to meet his again, but lips met first instead of eyes.

After their first gentle brush, Nowaki pulled back, testing Hiroki's "maybe." He held his next kiss back, keeping his lips a breath's distance away, until Hiroki pushed her chin slightly forward initiating their next contact.

After this, Nowaki continued to hold her wrists firmly but gently over her head, his mouth moved following the example set by his hands, capturing her lips as well.

Hiroki felt herself being swept away again by Nowaki's seeking lips, the stirring heat of his mouth. His tongue made a gentle inquiry and Hiroki's answered, hesitantly at first and then eagerly.

The two teens found themselves sliding down the wall. Hiroki ended up sitting on the floor, her back against the door. Nowaki knelt in front of her, his long legs straddling one of her own out stretched legs. Then he released her and Hiroki's arms moved forwards. Her hands found purchase sliding along the sides of his smooth cheeks by twining her long fingers in his thick hair.

Nowaki's hands drifted around and downwards, coming to rest at the small of Hiroki's back. She felt herself further carried away, lost in the tenderness of this touch. At least, until one of Nowaki's hot palms slipped to where her sweat-shirt had ridden up, landing on the bare, silken terrain of her electrified skin.

The touch was like a brand, searing her.

Hiroki dropped her own hands. Setting them against Nowaki's chest, she forced him backwards, breaking the seal of their kiss.

"Enough, Nowaki."

"Hiro-san," Nowaki whispered in reluctant acceptance of her decree, moving slowly, withdrawing until he was sitting alongside her.

Hiroki felt slightly drunk as she tried to stand up. Well, she never really been drunk before, but she imagined that this must be pretty close to how it felt.

"I still... need to... practice, Nowaki... Hiroki was having a hard finding her words. "We can walk... around for a bit... if you like... before my performance,"

"That sounds good Hiro-san," Nowaki sighed. Hiroki noticed he looked a little drunk himself.

Resuming her place on the piano's bench, she asked tentatively. "Do you want to come sit by me, Nowaki?"

Nowaki gave her sheepish grin and a slight nod down to his lap; his voice was apologetic, "I think it would be better if I just sat where I am for a bit, Hiro-san; if you don't mind."

When Hiroki realized just what he was saying, she blushed and redirected her gaze to her sheet music.

"You know, Hiro-san," Nowaki ventured quietly, "I did tell you that I was doing that training and that I might not be able to call you for a few days."

Hiroki tipped her head to the side and felt a new furrow form on her brow. She didn't want to fight, but she was not willing to concede fault yet either.

"I don't think you did, Nowaki. I would have remembered something like that."

"I said it at your door, when I brought you home," Nowaki persisted. "But you know, Kamijou-san was waiting, so maybe you were distracted?" His voice was not accusing only suggesting.

Hiroki blushed. As much as she hated to admit it, it was possible.

She'd been so worried about what her mother was going to do the closer they'd gotten to her house she couldn't really remember anything Nowaki had said from the time they'd reached the edge of the estate's grounds until her mother was smiling again and inviting him over for dinner.

Now that she thought about it seriously, maybe what he was saying did ring a bell. Hiroki started feeling guilty for not listening better.

Nowaki fortunately didn't seem to notice how she looked. He just went on with his apology.

"I'm sorry I didn't call or text, but it was a five day course and I finished it in three days so I could come be here with you today. That's why I didn't contact you.

"Outside of sleeping for the last seventy-two hours, before my route and getting here this morning, I've been living and breathing that course.

"But I passed so now I'm here!" Nowaki smiled happily as he said this.

Hearing these words, Hiroki felt even worse.

Here she'd been accusing Nowaki of terrible things in her mind and he'd been working so hard to improve himself and be here for her.

"Uh… I'm glad you're here now Nowaki," Hiroki stammered uncomfortably. "And I 'm sorry about earlier. I guess my music isn't all I need to practice." Internally she was kicking herself, she sounded so lame.

_What can I possibly do to make up for being such an ass?_

As if he'd heard her silent question, Nowaki's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Would you play something for me Hiro-san?"

Looking at Nowaki now, seeing his earnestness, Hiroki allowed her expression to soften. "I'd be honored to, Nowaki. And, when I play this afternoon, know that I am playing this piece for you too then, Okay?

It wasn't much Hiroki thought, but it was a start.

However, Nowaki was quickly overcome by the power of her playing and the gratitude on his face for this simple gesture engulfed Hiroki like a tidal wave.

As Hiroki's slender fingers continued to dance over the keyboard, she hoped they'd have a long time together for her to work on making things better. But for now, she allowed herself the sweet pleasure of this moment as they sat together in the practice room, lost in their wordless exchange.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! <strong>


	23. Resolving Scraps

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Resolving Scraps**

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><p>After Hiroki had run through her pieces, she and Nowaki left the practice room. Both walked quietly down the hall together, drifting along in the lingering state of flushed contentment brought on by their second kiss and the music.<p>

Hiroki had been surprised when she first started playing that the nervousness she usually felt when someone else was there with her, watching, was absent. Nowaki's presence, if anything, rather than making her self-conscious, had actually made her comfortable.

Of course it didn't hurt to have such an appreciative audience. She looked over at the tall boy next to her and a pleased blush rose to her cheeks.

Nowaki looked down with a thoughtful expression, as if once again he had been reading her thoughts. There was awe in his voice when he finally began speaking.

"I still can't believe you can play like that, Hiro-san… That was amazing. I've never heard anything so beautiful before."

Hiroki scrunched her nose in mock annoyance. "Hurrrmph… It could have been better! I was off tempo a bit in that last movement. And there are a dozen kids in this school who are way more talented than I am."

"Well, even if that's true… Which I have a hard time believing," Nowaki smiled, "There's no way any of them can look more beautiful than you do, when you play."

"Nowaki!" Hiroki cried and gave him gentle push. "Why do you have to go around saying such embarrassing things?"

Nowaki staggered a bit to the side but quickly recovered. "Would you like me to stop then, Hiro-san?" he asked slyly.

Hiroki ducked her auburn head away from the intense blue gaze and impish grin, but was silent.

"I thought so." Nowaki chuckled reaching for her hand.

"Dumb-ass," Hiroki grumbled blushing further, but she allowed Nowaki to take it.

Not long after leaving the music building, the pair ran into Shinobu and Miyagi.

The two boys had been on their way to get ice cream and had gotten sidetracked talking about the works of Matsuo Basho. They were having a heated discussion when Miyagi and Nowaki's gazes met.

Hiroki was shocked to feel Nowaki pulling her in Miyagi's direction. They were about six feet away from the older boy when Shinobu finally saw Nowaki. The tiny blond immediately puffed up and jumped in front of Miyagi yapping like a terrier.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing coming over here like this?" Shinobu's small hands were balled into tight fists, his chest heaving.

"I thought I told you to stay away!"

"Hush brat," Miyagi said mildly, stepping up behind him. A large hand run through the smaller boy's honeyed locks seemed to have a sedative effect on Shinobu, who suddenly fell quiet and stopped twitching.

"Do you mind staying here for a minute, Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked.

Hiroki glanced up at him, perplexed.

"Keep Kamijou company, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi murmured, looking down at the tousled blond scowling up at him from beneath his hand.

The two boys, their expressions rather sober, walked off side by side into the distance, under one of the large trees that peppered the school grounds. Hiroki and Shinobu curiously watched the interaction.

After exchanging some words, Hiroki was shocked to see the two boys bow to each other. When Miyagi and Nowaki returned, each boy was now slightly smiling. Miyagi even said something that made Nowaki laugh. By the time they reached the two teens they'd left behind, one might have thought from appearances that the two boys were friends.

"What the hell was that all about?" Shinobu shouted when Miyagi drew back alongside him.

Hiroki was glad the kid was so mouthy, as that was going to be her exact question until she realized that such wording would have hardly sounded lady-like. Not that this had ever stopped her before.

"Just reaching some resolution, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi offered. "It's what _mature_ people do."

Shinobu frowned as he looked at his elder. He didn't care for Miyagi's patronizing tone.

"How in the hell would you know what mature people do?"

Miyagi smiled at this, refusing to rise to the blond's bait, which only pissed Shinobu off even more.

"I thought I was buying you ice cream… Right?" Miyagi ruffled Shinobu's head again. "Two scoops, if I recall."

Shinobu eyed Miyagi suspiciously, but allowed his heated hackles to smooth just a bit. "Two scoops," he reiterated.

"All right." Miyagi set his hand on the smaller boy's shoulder steering him away from the other couple. "Let's go then."

He nodded at Hiroki, "see you around Kamijou-kun. Kusama." Nowaki nodded back amicably.

Hiroki had no idea what had happened: just a short time ago Nowaki looked like he was going to thrash Miyagi and now the two were acting almost like pals.

She shook her head. _Boys are such enigmatic creatures._

As they walked away, Hiroki couldn't help but ask, "What was that all about Nowaki?"

"Oh, I just apologized to Miyagi-san. I mean, you do go to school here after all, Hiro-san, and I didn't want to cause you any problems."

Nowaki took her hand again, then he added, "Besides, since I don't go to school here and can't be around, I wanted Miyagi-san to know exactly what my expectations for his future behavior were… "

Hiroki was about to shout at him and tell him she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, when a slight shiver shook her slender frame. The late autumn morning was warming, but with her earlier damp head, she had gotten chilled.

"Are you okay, Hiro-san?" Nowaki looked at her with concern.

"I'm okay, Nowaki," When she saw he wasn't convinced she finally admitted softly, "I'm cold."

"Well, here! Take my jacket, Hiro-san." Nowaki slipped it off of his shoulders and draped it around hers. It was almost short on him, but it hung down on Hiroki well past her thighs.

"Nowaki, I can't take your coat." Although the warmth from it and the lingering heat of his body immediately soothed her chill.

"You might as well take it, Hiro-san. I was going to take it off anyway, as I'm naturally hot."

"So I noticed," Hiroki mumbled, her eyes traveling over the tight t-shirt Nowaki was wearing under his light jacket.

"What was that, Hiro-san?"

Hiroki blushed. "Nothing."

They spent the next few hours wandering around the festival, mostly just looking at things. Nowaki must have asked a million questions. Hiroki had never met anyone with such a curious mind or so much natural wonder and found herself thinking, more than once, that despite what he said, if anyone was amazing it was Nowaki.

As they traveled around the festival, Hiroki was careful not to show too much interest in anything that they encountered, as she quickly learned that if she did, Nowaki would offer for the two of them to do it and, despite his strained circumstances, he wouldn't allow her to pay for anything.

They did do a few things, however, like visiting the haunted house. It really wasn't that scary, but it gave Hiroki the excuse to hold on to him: which, she figured, was the primary purpose of an attraction like that.

They played a few games too and Nowaki won a stuffed panda which he gave her. Hiroki won a game herself and offered the prize to Nowaki.

She was surprised when among the various things offered that he chose a small, black stuffed dog.

Seeing her expression, Nowaki offered an explanation, sounding only slightly sheepish. "I have another stuffed dog at home. It's from when I was a little kid. I thought maybe he might like to have a friend."

Hiroki actually found herself smiling at this. She had learned enough about Nowaki's life in the short time they'd known each other and had the perception to realize what Nowaki was saying.

"I think that's a good choice then, Nowaki."

"Really, Hiro-san?" Nowaki looked at her of curiously: this gentle response wasn't quite what he'd been expecting.

"Yeah… I mean… No one likes to be alone, he should have someone too." Hiroki offered this, despite the fact she felt a little bit foolish. The smile Nowaki gave her when she said it, however, made it totally worth it.

After a bit more, Nowaki wandered off to get them a snack. Hiroki waited at one of the picnic tables that had been set up in the food court. The afternoon was getting crisp so she stuck her hands in the pockets of Nowaki's jacket. She was surprised to find they were full of all kinds of paper.

Hiroki knew she was being a bit nosy but she pulled a few out. It was an odd assortment of scraps, but what really caught her eye was that there was writing on each one. And what's more… so was her name.

Her heart almost burst when she started reading.

She looked at a cafeteria napkin and on it- _"Hiro-san… just finished the second test and Tsumori brought me down to the hospital cafeteria for coffee. He said I looked tired. I miss you. OXOXOXXO,N."_

The next scrap was a candy wrapper- _"Hiro-san, one of the patients I was assisting gave me this candy… Its sweetness made me think of you. I miss you. XOXOXOX N."_

Then there was a piece of paper bag. _"Hiro-san, I am riding the train home. It's one a.m. I stayed late at the hospital to study. I hope to see you in my dreams tonight as I have missed you today. OXOXOXOXOX N."_

Sticking her hands back into Nowaki's pockets, Hiroki pulled out literally dozens of these tiny missives.

Nowaki had just arrived back at the table. His face blanched when he saw Hiroki's hands filled with his notes and he almost dropped the food he was carrying.

"Hiro-san, what are you doing?" Nowaki gasped, his voiced sounding pained. "Don't look at those…"

Hiroki looked up. "I never knew you could write such sap, Nowaki."

Nowaki blushed as he set their snacks down and reached for the papers, setting his hands over hers.

"Please, give those to me, Hiro-san. They're not yours."

Hiroki scowled furiously and tightened her fists. "What in the hell do you mean, _they're not mine_?" She demanded.

"They have my freaking name on them… Every one!" Her huge hazel eyes glared at Nowaki as she pulled her hands back, holding onto the tiny scraps with a death-grip.

"Nowaki, what are all these?"

Nowaki reluctantly admitted, "They're all the texts I would have sent to you if I had a phone."

"Why didn't you just borrow someone's phone then and call me, Nowaki?"

"Because if you answered, Hiro-san, I would have wanted to quit the training program and come see you.

And, if I'd sent a text and you did reply, I didn't want your words on someone else's phone… And I would never have been able to delete something you sent me."

"Here… Please, Hiro-san, let me throw them away now," Nowaki pleaded.

The realization of what Nowaki had done overwhelmed Hiroki. "Are you crazy?" She yelled. "Throw them away?"

Clumsily, as her hands were full, she unzipped the front pocket of her panda pack sitting on the bench beside her and started sticking all the notes inside.

"I'm keeping them, Dumb-ass!"

"Do you want me to read them to you, then?" Nowaki asked, sitting down beside her and pulling a few more out of an inside pocket Hiroki didn't know about.

"No!" She snapped, grabbing the precious scraps from his fingers. ""I'll uh… look at them later… I can only take so much sap a sitting," She said blushing furiously.

Nowaki smiled at this. "Okay Hiro-san," he finally conceded with a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Later when Nowaki offered to throw away the trash, Hiroki let him. When he was away from the table, she grabbed a pen from her pack and in her furious scribble, wrote on a bit of the wrapping she'd saved from her snack:

_"Nowaki, _

_thank you…_

_P.S. I missed you too…_

_P.S. P. S .ox._

_K.H."_

Then smiling to herself she folded it and stuck it in Nowaki's pocket for him to find later.

"Hiro-san, are you ready to go?" Nowaki asked returning to the table. It was getting close to the time for her recital and she needed to change.

"Yeah sure, Nowaki," Hiroki popped up and surprised Nowaki by taking his hand herself this time.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	24. Proper Introductions

**Teen Hiroki**

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Proper Introductions**

* * *

><p>In the ladies room located just outside of the auditorium, Hiroki looked at herself in the mirror and made a face.<p>

One of the things she hated most about performing was that she had to dress up. Backing up from the long mirror over the sinks, she turned from side to side, just to make sure that there wasn't anything on the knee-length, sleeveless, black dress she now it hadn't gotten too wrinkled sitting in her pack all day; she pulled a pair of black flats out of her panda and slipped her bare feet into them. She knew that some of the older parents might object to bare legs, but there was no fucking way she was wearing hose.

Taking a brush next from her bottomless pack, Hiroki pulled it roughly through her thick, auburn hair. Then, she reached over and picked up the pair of panda barrettes she'd set out on the counter and clipped her wild bangs back.

Her huge hazel eyes stared nakedly back at her.

Fortunate that, with her smooth, fine-pored complexion, she had little need for makeup (and no need ever for blush), Hiroki did take a minute to add just the slightest bit of mascara and a little lip gloss.

"That's as good as you're getting girl," she told her reflection.

Shoving all her unneeded gear back into her panda pack, she then carefully replaced her stuffed panda and Nowaki's black dog on top and gently zipped them in.

_Now for the acid test_…

Hiroki furrowed her brow, squared her shoulders, and went out to face Nowaki.

He was sitting on the floor outside the ladies room, his long legs folded. His head was bowed between his arms, resting atop his bent knees.

Hiroki noticed that Nowaki didn't look up immediately when she stepped out into the hall.

Moving closer, she was going to nudge his foot with her own, when she suddenly heard Nowaki's heavy breathing: exhausted, he had fallen asleep. Hiroki thought about how hard he had worked so that he could be there to spend the day with her and decided Nowaki deserved more than a nudge.

She crouched down next to him and ran a hand tenderly through his thick, raven hair, calling out softly.

"Nowaki."

Nowaki sighed deeply and slowly raised his head, blinking sleepy blue eyes. Hiroki could have kicked herself for how cute she thought Nowaki looked in that moment.

When Nowaki's eyes focused on her kneeling beside him, they grew wide with wonder.

"Hiro-san, am I still asleep?" Nowaki's voice sounded groggy. "Because you look like a dream."

"Dumb-ass," Hiroki snorted. "You must still be asleep because I don't know anyone who spouts off that kind of sap when they're conscious."

"There's only one way to find out, I guess." Nowaki smiled, then he caught Hiroki's chin in his hand and leaned in gently brushing her lips with his.

Hiroki's eyes widened at the unexpected kiss and as soon as Nowaki's lips left hers, she gave him a shove and stood up.

"Idiot," she huffed. "We're in public! What if someone saw you do that?"

Nowaki stood and dusted himself off.

"Seeing how you look in that dress, Hiro-san, I'm sure they wouldn't blame me."

"Nowaki, are you always so hopeless when you first wake up?"

Hiroki sighed. Nowaki thought of about a dozen sappy things he could say that would probably only further aggravate her; so he just smiled anew and shrugged.

"Come on Nowaki, let's go find you a seat for the concert." Hiroki grabbed his hand, pulling him into the auditorium. As it was still a bit early, they found a seat for him close to the front.

"Okay, I have to go backstage now, Nowaki. Can I leave my panda pack with you while I'm performing?"

"You want me to hold your bag, Hiro-san?" Nowaki was thrilled he been asked to hold Hiroki's pack, which essentially served as her purse. In his mind, being given this responsibility made it really official now: he was truly her boyfriend.

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

Hiroki was perplexed a bit by the goofy expression on the other teen's face. Then she added, "Just don't touch any of those notes okay? Remember, those are _mine!_"

"Okay Hiro-san," Nowaki said happily.

Hiroki turned to go but stopped after going a few feet and turned back.

"Oh, and don't forget, I am playing for you today when I'm up there." Then her brow furrowed. "Unless I really suck that is."

"You won't," Nowaki assured. "You'll be amazing, Hiro-san."

Hiroki turned again and headed back stage, on her way she realized with a start that with Nowaki watching for her in the audience she believed him.

* * *

><p>When was finally Hiroki's turn to go on, she had a shock as she was walking on stage, suddenly noticing Akihiko sitting in the second row in the audience.<p>

True to his word, though she hadn't seen or heard from him in days, he had made it to her recital. He waved slightly and Hiroki nodded in acknowledgement. Then squinting a bit she saw it looked like there was something wrong with Akihiko's other arm, though with the lighting it was difficult to tell.

What she was clear on however, was that the weight that she'd been carrying… All her cumbersome feelings for Akihiko, were no longer there. This sense of lightness only increased when she glanced across the room and saw Nowaki smiling at her radiantly from where he was sitting.

Hiroki couldn't help herself. She smiled back.

The concert went amazingly well and her performance was all but perfect. When it was over, she went looking for and found Nowaki easily: he was waiting for her near the stage, proudly holding her pack. Of course, it helped having a boyfriend who was abnormally tall.

"That was amazing, Hiro-san!"

A pleased blush colored Hiroki's cheeks as she took her pack back from him."It wasn't too bad."

"So are we going to the dance now?" Nowaki asked eagerly.

"Um… in a few minutes, Nowaki."

Hiroki opened her pack and dug around a bit before pulling something out. "Do you mind if I introduce you to someone first?"

"No…" Nowaki looked at Hiroki curiously.

"Good," Hiroki took up Nowaki's hand once again. "Let's go find him."

* * *

><p>As the concert hall was clearing, not wanting to fight the crowds, Akihiko had remained seated.<p>

"Usagi-san!" a familiar voice called.

Looking up, Akihiko saw a skinny brown-haired youth appear in the row in front him.

"I thought that was you," Misaki said happily.

"Misaki, what are you doing here?"

"Ah… Takahiro is working a booth for the economics club," Misaki sighed, "and he made me come with him.

"He said you had a friend that was playing in the recitals concert, you would probably come see.

"So, I thought I'd take a chance and see if I could find you."

Misaki said this last bit rather shyly, a blush creeping up into his cheeks. "I was worried, I hadn't heard from you for a few days."

Looking at Akihiko a little more closely now, Misaki's green eyes widened seeing Akihiko's cast arm.

"Oh no, Usagi-san! What happened?"

Akihiko patted the seat next to him and Misaki jumped over the row and sat down beside him.

"I had a bit of a mishap, I'm afraid, Misaki. Put me out of commission for a few days.

"I'm sorry, that's why I didn't call."

"Akihiko," Hiroki called out, appearing in the row ahead of the two boys where Misaki had just been standing a few minutes before.

Akihiko stood up. "Great concert, Professor!"

Hiroki's eyes went wide seeing his broken arm. "Oh, Aki what happened?"

She reached up and, though it was a bit of a stretch, tousled the other teen's light hair.

"I haven't seen you since that night at the library. I've been trying to get a hold of you for days. You don't answer your phone and weren't at school.

"I was starting to worry that you might be dying in a ditch somewhere, and seeing you now, it looks like I wasn't that far off.

"Your color isn't very good either. Have you been eating properly?" Hiroki's voice was filled with concern.

Akihiko marveled as he always did at how kind Hiroki's hands felt. (When they weren't slapping or punching him, that was).

"Ah, well… That night I saw you at the library, I was looking for Haruhiko.

"He and I had been having a disagreement and when I came home that night he was waiting for me with a baseball bat. Things got a bit out of hand after that and I ended up spending a day or two in hospital."

Akihiko offered this information nonchalantly ignoring both Hiroki and Misaki's horrified gasps.

"Asshole broke my phone as well! Bloody nuisance," he muttered.

"Oh, Aki, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, Hiroki." Akihiko snorted, "Twenty-fours later, father had Haru's ass on a plane to a boarding school somewhere. He won't be back for months! So, as far as I'm concerned it was worth it."

Then Akihiko's keen eyes suddenly noticed something in Hiroki's non-hair-tousling hand.

"Is that my notebook?"

"Mmmmm, "Hiroki answered. "I read your story after all."

Akihiko looked at her, his expression apprehensive. "So what did you think?"

Hiroki had read the story. She'd been shocked at first that Akihiko had plainly used his own name and Takahiro's. She was also surprised to find the story had actually ended not that much differently than the episode that occurred between the two boys at their secret place.

Gazing at her friend, her eyes held a compassion that overwhelmed Akihiko.

"To be honest Aki, I wish the story had a happier ending."

Hiroki held out the notebook. Still stunned to silence by her unexpected response to his story, Akihiko took it.

"Aki, would you come with me? There's someone I want you meet."

Setting the notebook down in the seat he'd been occupying, Akihiko looked at Misaki, who had been watching the two older teen's exchange curiously.

"Misaki, would you mind waiting for me for just a few minutes?"

Misaki smiled sweetly. "No worries, Usagi-san!"

Akihiko felt his heart beat faster seeing the younger boy's cute grin.

Reaching over, Akihiko took one of Hiroki's hands with his good one and climbed over into her row. They walked down the aisle to the end where Nowaki was waiting.

Nowaki's face was solemn since Hiroki had given him a lecture on conduct beforehand. Akihiko's eyes widened when he recognized the tall youth from the library.

"I know you guys met the other night," Hiroki immediately sensed the tension between the two boys. "But I think you both should have a proper introduction."

She looked between them.

"Nowaki, this is my oldest and best friend, Usami Akihiko. And, uh… just for the record… He like boys."

Hiroki wasn't sure that Akihiko appreciated her offering that information, but Nowaki sure seemed to, as his expression suddenly relaxed considerably.

"And Akihiko, this Kusama Nowaki. He's my boyfriend… and uh… He likes me."

Nowaki slightly raised the panda pack he was minding again in confirmation of his "boyfriend" status.

"Nice to meet you Kusama-san." Akihiko bowed.

"Likewise," Nowaki replied with a bow of his own. He nodded at Akihiko's arm.

"Skateboard?"

"Baseball bat."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

Seeing that the two men in her life were off to a satisfactory exchange, Hiroki interrupted their first tentative male bonding session.

"Nowaki and I are going to the dance, Akihiko. Will we see you there later?"

Akihiko looked back down the row where Misaki still sat, now thumbing through his notebook.

"Ummmmmm, my guess would be probably not." Akihiko sighed, gazing back at Hiroki.

"Well, then call me later. And use a land-line if you need to, Dumb-ass," Hiroki instructed as she took Nowaki's arm and started pulling him out of the auditorium behind her.

"Bye, Usami-san" Nowaki smiled allowing his "girlfriend" to lead him off.

Akihiko just nodded. Watching the two leave, his heart felt uncomfortably heavy for some reason he couldn't explain. Then he turned back and looked at Misaki and felt it lighten just a bit.

The cute brunet had stood up and made his way to the end of the row once he saw the other older teens leaving.

"So, I saw you looking at my story," Akihiko said softly when Misaki reached him, eying the younger boy with apprehension.

"Yeah." Misaki handed the notebook back with a blush.

The green-eyed teen looked down and drug a sneakered foot across the ground. "Well, I mean I didn't really read too much, I just kind of glanced at it."

"This story of yours… This is about you and my brother, right? Misaki paused a moment and then asked, "So, your friend said it didn't have a very happy ending?'

"Yes," Akihiko sighed, "Lost cause, I suppose."

Misaki moved in a bit closer, still studying the ground. "Maybe you just need to make a few changes and it could have a different outcome?"

"Oh?" Akihiko's brows rose.

"Like… Um… changing one of the character's names or something," Misaki mumbled, his cheeks growing even more pink.

"I don't suppose you have any suggestions for more suitable names?"

Big, green eyes suddenly looked up into lavender ones intently as Misaki stammered.

"I suppose any name would do, but uh… was always kind of partial to 'Misaki' myself."

Akihiko smiled and handed the notebook over so that he could drape his good arm around thin shoulders.

"I have to disagree with your thought that just any old name will do…It needs to be a special one for the story to work… But now… _Misaki_…

"You know, that name does have a wonderful ring to it. " Akihiko placed a gentle kiss on Misaki's forehead.

Misaki smiled back.

"Yes, I think that name has very definite possibilities."

Together the two boys started walking out of the empty auditorium.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay next is definitely the last chapter….. Choirs of JR Angels Sing!<strong>

**Thanks for reading!**


	25. Dance Partners

**Teen Hiroki **

**Chapter Twenty Five: Dance Partners**

* * *

><p>Hiroki and Nowaki left the auditorium heading to the dance. All the way there, they held hands, walking side by side, so close to each other they occasionally bumped hips.<p>

Looking over Hiroki noticed Nowaki seemed particularly pensive."Nowaki," she asked softly, "What are you thinking about?"

Nowaki seemed startled by the question. Still unused to anyone actually being interested in what he was thinking or paying enough attention to note a change in his mood, his heart flushed with warmth at Hiroki's concern.

"You really liked Usami-san didn't you, Hiro-san." He offered this more as an observation and less as a question.

As always, Hiroki was shocked by Nowaki's directness. However, she answered truthfully.

"Yes, Nowaki, I did." As she said this though, she gave his hand a squeeze of reassurance.

"I haven't wanted too many things in my life, Hiro-san." Nowaki gazed down at her, his blue eyes dark and serious. "But I know I want you, and having the chance to be with you like this makes me so happy it scares me.

Hiroki was touched by this open declaration. She could tell, however, Nowaki wasn't finished with what he wanted to say so she stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I want you to be happy too, Hiro-san. So, I'm feel kind of bad Usami-san couldn't like you in the way you wanted…" Nowaki said this with a convicted look on his face.

"At the same time… I'm glad that that he couldn't … Because now that means that I can."

"Hiro-san, I'm sorry that I'm so selfish."

Hiroki stared at the strange, wonderful boy beside her. She shook her wild, auburn head.

"What planet are you from, Nowaki?"

Seeing his perplexed expression, she continued, blushing mightily. "I know we haven't known each other for that long, Nowaki, but I can honestly tell you, I don't think I've ever met a less selfish person in my life…"

Hiroki focused her eyes on the ground, her embarrassment mounting.

"Besides, I _am_ happy," she mumbled uncomfortably. Her large hazel eyes looked up into Nowaki's heartbreaking blue gaze once more.

"_Very_…"

Hiroki narrowed her eyes and her expression became fierce. "Got that?!"

A wave of relief washed over Nowaki's face. He didn't reply, he just beamed.

Entering the gymnasium where the dance was being held, approaching the ticket table with Nowaki, Hiroki immediately recognized the two girls manning it (or, more appropriately, womanning it): it was the "twins."

The twins weren't really twins but best friends. They hung with a clique of other girls at her school known as the "eccentrics." The eccentrics were an eclectic group of smart kids and arty misfits always reading manga or doing roleplay in between classes. Hiroki hung out with this crowd on occasion herself.

Today both twins were dressed in black, wearing matching outfits; only one wore a tee-shirt emblazoned with the logo EFG, while the other girl's simply sported an X.

"Hi, Hiroki-chan," the EFG twin greeted. "Did you get that coding assignment done?"

Hiroki had a computer class with EFG and she attended an English class with the X twin.

"Ah, not yet, but I'll have it done by Monday." Hiroki watched with concern as Nowaki drew his beleaguered wallet out to pay for the tickets.

Switching the conversation suddenly, EFG asked with interest,"Who's your friend?"

"I'm Hiro-san's boyfriend, Kusama-Nowaki," Nowaki offered with a light bow, not just a little proudly, before Hiroki could stammer out an answer.

"_Hiro-san_, that's a cute nickname!" EFG giggled despite the stern look this earned her from Hiroki.

The more pensive of the pair, the "X" twin took in this exchange silently. Ever observant, she'd seen Hiroki's expression watching Nowaki. So, when the tall youth held out his bills for their tickets, X suddenly shook her head and tentatively reached out and pushed Nowaki's hand back towards him.

"You two sure are lucky," X murmured. She tried to keep herself from blushing, not quite succeeding. "You're the one hundredth couple to the dance today."

She held a pair of tickets out to Nowaki. "Free entry to the event is the door prize for that."

EFG's brows rose considerably at her twin, but she said nothing.

"Really?" Nowaki looked both pleased and surprised.

"Uh, yeah!" EFG chirped enthusiastically, deciding to support whatever the heck it was X was doing.

Hiroki couldn't help but smile just a bit at the girls' kindness.

"Don't question it, Idiot. Just accept them," she admonished, reaching out and taking the tickets much to X's disappointment. X had kind of been hoping to brush Nowaki's warm fingers again.

As soon as she had the tickets, Hiroki put her hands on Nowaki's back and started pushing him into the gymnasium's interior. Once Nowaki's eyes were focused ahead, Hiroki turned back and mouthed "Thank you!"

The twins just nodded back.

"He's really cute. Hiroki-chan's lucky," EFG sighed.

X rolled her eyes at her twin and pulled a BL manga out of her bag from under the table. She frowned as she looked down at a couple of well-drawn males hand still tingled where Nowaki had touched it.

"I like cartoon boys better," she declared unconvincingly.

"Hey! Bring that over here where I can see it too!"

EFG reached over and pulled at the BL's pages. The two girls looked down at the manga, then simultaneously they lifted their dark heads. Staring at the door Hiroki and Nowaki had just disappeared through, they giggled.

* * *

><p>Inside the gymnasium where the dance was taking place, Nowaki sparkled almost as much as the decorations.<p>

"Uuuuwahhh, Hiro-san this place looks amazing!"

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't look so lame." Seeing Nowaki's enchanted expression made Hiroki's heart feel incredibly warm.

"Hiro-san," Nowaki asked almost shyly, "Would you dance with me?"

"Of course, Dumb-ass! Why the heck else would we come here?" Hiroki huffed, trying to hide just how adorable she thought Nowaki seemed at that instant. She took his hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor, just as the song that had been playing ended.

The band picked up another tune in less than a minute: it was a slow song. Nowaki and Hiroki stood facing each other. They looked at one another and then both dropped their gazes, blushing.

"Hiro-san, I wasn't kidding when I told you I didn't know how to dance."

"That's okay Nowaki, I can show you." Hiroki moved in closer. "Slow dancing is really easy anyways. Mostly it's just about standing around kind of swaying."

She pulled one of Nowaki's hands to the small of her back. After a second, she took Nowaki's other hand and did the same. Then she wrapped her slender arms around his lean torso and leaned against him, resting her head against his chest.

"Just follow me Nowaki." Hiroki gazed up into Nowaki's warm blue eyes.

"Anywhere, Hiro-san," he breathed happily.

Nowaki began to rock with Hiroki in time to the music. Then he brought one large hand up and gently stroked the side of her face.

"Dumb-ass," Hiroki muttered, bowing her head against his broad chest again, but she was smiling as she said this and her tone was exceedingly tender.

* * *

><p>At the far end of the gym, underneath the bleachers, Miyagi and Shinobu sat together, side by side on the floor.<p>

"See, I told you we could sneak in!" Shinobu hiccupped triumphantly.

"Okay, But so now that we're in, what do we do?" Miyagi stared at his little blond terrorist. He still couldn't believe that he'd let Shinobu talk him into this, not to mention he'd ended up spending the entire day with the younger boy.

Shinobu peered through the slats of the bleachers and then glanced back at Miyagi. His face became rather sheepish. "I don't know… Sit here and watch everyone else, I guess."

The tiny blond sat back with a sigh.

"This is the stupidest thing I've ever done," Miyagi muttered settling in too.

Then internally he corrected himself, _the second stupidest, the first was getting sucked into hanging out with this brat in the first place.(Although, while he'd never admit it, he'd actually pretty much enjoyed himself. ) _

Miyagi's blue eyes shifted and then came to rest on Shinobu. The younger boy seemed mesmerized by the couples out on the dance floor. If he wasn't mistaken, Miyagi thought the little guy looked more than a bit jealous of the other kids dancing.

After a minute or two, Shinobu's thin shoulders hitched as he hiccuped again. Wrapping slender arms around his stomach, he groaned.

"I told you shouldn't have had that third double scoop," Miyagi chided.

"I know…" Shinobu frowned miserably as another hiccup jolted him. But he just hadn't been able to resist going back for more, not with the indirect kisses he got whenever he cajoled Miyagi into taking a lick of his ice cream.

"What are your parents going to say now when you don't want to eat dinner?"

Shinobu gazed through shaggy blond bangs at Miyagi; his normally fiery eyes filled with an ill-disguised sadness.

"It doesn't matter. They won't be home anyway. My dad's always working and my mom's probably out shopping with her friends.

"What about your older sister?" Miyagi asked curiously.

"Nah, Risako has a new boyfriend now and she's always off with him somewhere."

"So you're pretty much on your own?"

"Yeah, I guess so… But that's okay; I'm used to it. " Shinobu's voice sounded confident, but Miyagi could hear a heaviness in his tone that the younger boy was trying awfully hard to hide.

Though he didn't want to admit it, imaging the little guy rattling around an empty house pulled at Miyagi's heart.

_Shinobu must be incredibly lonely. _No wonder the kid was so persistent, such a handful.

Despite all the warnings his mind was giving him, Miyagi slid up behind the smaller teen, so that soon, Shinobu sat between his legs. Then he wrapped his long arms around Shinobu and pulled slender shoulders up against his chest.

The Shinobu turned and looked at him quizzically. "What in the hell are you doing, Old Man?!"

"Hush, Brat," Miyagi murmured. "I'm watching the dance."

Shinobu gaped at him with wide-eyed wonder and Miyagi just offered smirking smile back.

Turning his eyes back to the dancers again; Shinobu watched all the couples out on the floor. He surprised to find he no longer felt the least bit jealous. He let the music wash over him and leaned back in to the comforting warmth of Miyagi's arms.

Once settled, he hiccuped again. When he did, it almost sounded like he said, "Fate."

"What?" Miyagi asked, lowering his shaggy black head over his shoulder.

"Nothing…" Shinobu snuggled deeper against the older boy. "Now shut up, Miyagi. I'm watching the dancers."

Miyagi chuckled lightly at having his own words thrown back at him. Then he tightened his grip protectively around Shinobu.

As they sat together silently, watching the rest of the world out on the dance floor, in this moment, neither of them felt any need to join it.

* * *

><p>Standing at the other end of the gym, also beneath the bleachers, Akihiko was likewise watching the dancers. However, unlike Miyagi and Shinobu, he had his eye on a particular couple.<p>

He watched as Nowaki brought one large hand up and ran it through the back of Hiroki's hair. Then he saw Hiroki look up and he'd be damned if he didn't see her smile at this touch.

A sudden deep grief gripped Akihiko's heart, realizing that whatever it was that he and Hiroki had shared, while their friendship might continue, it was likely never going be the same. Despite this feeling of tremendous loss, seeing his best friend dancing out on the floor, Akihiko realized he'd never seen Hiroki look so content.

He was happy Hiroki had found someone who could give her what she needed; what she deserved. However, he resolved to keep a close eye on her.

_And if Kusama, ever hurts her, he'll find himself having to deal with one furious Usami._

Although Akihiko had a sinking suspicion that if anyone was going to find himself on the tender side in Hiroki and her giant's relationship… It would more likely be Kusama.

"Usagi-san," Misaki's voice broke into Akihiko's thoughts and he looked over into a pair of increasingly enchanting green eyes.

"Did you find Takahiro, Misaki?"

"Yeah. He and his new girlfriend, Manami, were dancing up by the band."

Misaki scrunched his nose. "They were all pressed up against each other; it was kind of gross."

Akihiko couldn't help but laugh at the younger Takahashi's observation. He reached out with his good hand and ruffled Misaki's dark head.

"You shouldn't condemn it if you haven't tried it, Misaki," Akihiko gently teased, drawing yet another lovely blush from the younger boy.

"So, did Takahiro say it was okay for me to take you home?"

"Yeah, he was a little worried that it might be a bother for you," Misaki replied. "But when I told him you said it wasn't, he was fine,"

"So shall we head out then?" Akihiko asked. "We can stop on the way home and pick up something for dinner."

"Well, uh sure… Usagi-san." Misaki looked at the floor and his blush increased. "But I was kind of wondering…"

"Yes?" Akihiko waited patiently for Misaki to spit out whatever it was that was on his mind.

"Well," Misaki stammered, "Like, what you said… Could we try it?"

Akihiko quirked a brow at this. "What?… Here?"

"What better place would there be?" Misaki's eyes grew wide.

"I don't know?" Akihiko purred, "A bedroom perhaps?"

"I was talking about dancing you pervert!" Misaki huffed. "Don't go getting too far ahead of yourself. I haven't even kissed you again since that day at the park!"

Akihiko chuckled at the younger boy's indignance. It was so cute.

"So?…" Misaki asked hesitantly after a couple silent seconds.

"So what?"

Akihiko pretended to be obtuse to see if he could get Misaki to say it. Misaki sighed and turned a deeper shade of pink.

"Will… uh… Will you dance with me please, Usagi-san?" he muttered keeping his gaze locked on the ground.

Akihiko caught Misaki's chin with his good hand and lifted his head.

"Misaki, I'd love to dance with you."

Green eyes went wide again and then fluttered closed as Akihiko leaned in and kissed Misaki deeply.

It took a little arranging to work around Akihiko's cast, but after a minute or two, the two boys were swaying together in the dim shadows under the protective blind of the bleachers.

"You know, Misaki," Akihiko whispered pulling the smaller teen closer to him with his good arm. "If you're not careful, I might just fall in love with you."

Misaki blushed again and nestled his head under the older boy's chin. Then after a moment of silence he looked up into lavender eyes.

"Hands, Usagi!"

Akihiko slid his hand back up, off of Misaki's pert bottom.

"Ah… sorry," he mumbled, though he didn't really sound all that apologetic.

"Pervert!" Misaki snorted and then snuggled back in.

* * *

><p>Out on the dance floor, Hiroki and Nowaki had "somehow" drifted into a secluded corner. It didn't matter to them that the song had changed and was now something much faster: they continued to slowly sway together, lost in a music of their own making.<p>

Nowaki took one of his large hands and gently caught Hiroki's chin, lifting it up. Then he leaned his dark head down and placed a gentle but lingering kiss on her lips. His arm around her waist tightened when he felt Hiroki slip a bit.

Hiroki damned the effect Nowaki's kisses had on her knees.

When Nowaki broke the kiss he waited for Hiroki's hazel eyes to flutter back open. When they did, he swept her away in the blue tidal wave of his gaze.

"Being with you, Hiro-san… The one I love… It makes me feel so happy I could die."

Hiroki wrapped her arms around Nowaki's neck and pulled his head down. Nowaki's eyes widened when she captured his mouth in a crushing kiss that left them both gasping.

Staring at him hard, despite how her cheeks were burning Hiroki said hotly, "Don't even think about it, Nowaki!" Then her voice slipped into something far more tender.

"Because we've just barely started and we have a whole lifetime to be together yet."

* * *

><p><strong>THE END<strong>

**(REALLY)**

**Thank you all my lovely readers for traversing this story with me here.**

**So here we are at the end of this tale. If you have been reading along or have come along later, please drop a review…even if it's just and "I was here" to let me know you've read this. You have no idea how much it means to me.**

**12/12/2014**

**Okay, so I am currently posting this fic on my tumblr and as I have been editing this fic and moving back and forth between accounts, I've noticed the reading stats for this story have been climbing. My guess is that some of you have seen the story on tumblr and have switched over here to finish reading it, not wanting to wait for updates, since the story is finished.**

**If this is the case, please consider dropping a review. I know this fic was done a long time ago, but it's only three small reviews away from 400 and I'm a sucker for round numbers.**

**Thanks!**

**Bye for now!  
><strong>

**Cerberus**


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